Beacon High
by MilitaryBarbie
Summary: Weiss is an exchange student to Vale, living with the Nikos family as her hosts. Modern High School AU.
1. Prequel

_**Howdy! This is just a little one shot I made for a longer series I'm writing to set some backstory. I originally wasn't going to post it but it's the first thing I've written I've actually completely finished and I promised myself the first thing I finished I'd post no matter what, so here it is. Drop a comment or review if you feel like it and let me know what you think. Enjoy!**_

She clasped the latch shut on the last suitcase, giving it over to her butler to stack on top of the monstrous pile that was currently outside her door.

"Now, you make sure you take care of yourself, little snowflake." he pulled her into a hug once her things were sorted away, patting her back softly.

"I don't know how I'll get by without you, Klein." she tried to hide her sad smile from him by pressing her face into his shoulder.

"Tosh, you don't need me. You'll do just fine out there."

"I'll miss you."

"And I'll miss you too." he squeezed her tighter, whispering in her ear as they leaned in. "But we both know you're much better off anywhere but here."

With that said he led the way out of her childhood bedroom, pushing the cart her luggage was on as she closed the door with a final click. Many hallways and an elevator later, she approached the front doors to her family's mansion. Her Father was standing in the middle of the entryway with her brother to his side, hands clasped behind his back as he waited for her. She mentally steeled herself before stepping in front of him.

"I'll advise you to use this five month period to iron out all the rebellious kinks you developed lately, as Madame Fosters does not tolerate attitude as I do. I still see little reason in this...excursion." her Father's brisk voice grated against her pride.

"I want to know what the world is like, Father. After all, this connection with the Nikos' can only prove beneficial."

"I know, and I expect weekly letters on the progress of our business propositions." he extended his hand, shaking hers with the cold grip of finality she'd come to associate with her Father.

'_I'll miss you too' _she thought sourly, turning away from the Schnee patriarch. Her heels clacked against the marble as she finally, _finally, _walked out of her family home.

It took a car, a train, a plane, and another car to get to Vale, but she soaked in the entire trip. She's been on plenty of business trips before but now was the first time she really felt free. The air seemed fresher, the sun was brighter, even the terrible airport coffee tasted...well that was still pretty bad. She took the chance to spend on the indulgences her Father had never allowed her, like a candybar from the train trolley and a rather fancy lunch while she waited for her plane in the airport. She'd made sure to withdraw from her account instead of using her card so her Father couldn't see what she'd spent it on, and the foresight was helping keep her relaxed.

While she'd put an amazing amount of effort into coordinating this, she was still a little trepidatious. The Nikos' had been hesitant when she approached them with the idea of hosting her for an exchange student program and honestly she didn't blame them. She'd met their daughter Pyrrha at a lot of parties and fundraisers before and she'd been perfectly delightly, but they were far from close friends. She's only seen her twice over the past year and she'd never held a lengthy conversation with either of her parents. Why they had agreed was beyond her but she'd been elated to hear they'd except her. They were one of the only families her Father seemed to be having trouble wrestling into business deals, and probably one of two who she could actually see herself staying with for any extended length of time. She knew her Father must be truly desperate for their support if he'd agreed to this plan, and she hoped for their sake this agreement took some of the heat off the two business patriarchs. Her Father was not a man to cross.

A day and a night after she left her family mansion in Atlas, she arrived in the much warmer climate of Vale. She'd heard stories about how the kingdom was practically in ruins because of its lax military but all she saw were bustling shops and happy people. Her taxi went straight through the heart of downtown before slowly heading out of the city once more. Suburbs stretched all around in neatly organized blocks. She knew this was a wealthier part of town but compared to her family's estate, it felt incredibly claustrophobic to have neighbors so near one another. Didn't they ask questions when they heard fighting, or shattering glass?

The taxi finally stopped in front of a Romanesque style house to buzz in at the box by the gate. It was only two stories, maybe five bedrooms and an office, but she wasn't so much focused on the size as the three people standing on the front step. The taxi stopped at the front of the house and the man opened her door for her, offering his hand.

"Weiss, I'm so glad you made it!" Pyrrha didn't wait for her to regain her composure, instead throwing herself into a tight hug.

"I told you I would, Pyrrha." Weiss straightened her skirt, offering her hand to the two older individuals. "Mr. and Mrs. Nikos, I can't tell you again how grateful I am for your hospitality."

"Nonsense, Weiss, it's our pleasure to have you stay with us. Pyrrha's been bursting at the seams all summer. Now what did we tell you about the Mr. and Mrs. thing? Please, Gus and Ari."

"Sorry, old habits." she politely returned his warm handshake while Pyrrha's Mom likewise opted for a, admittedly more civil, hug.

"It's going to be so nice having you here. We've got your room all turned up. Why don't you come and see it? Augustus, could you get her bags?"

"Aye aye, Cap'n." he saluted his wife with a wink before joining the taxi driver in emptying the trunk.

Mrs. Nikos led her into a beautiful sitting room and down a hall to a set of stairs, pulling her to the right on the landing. They passed one room Weiss assumed to be Pyrrha's, and peeking in the door she saw red colors and athletic gear everywhere. The next door was closed and Mrs. Nikos stopped in front of it with a little giggle.

"Pyrrha's been working on it all summer. I do hope you like it."

"The trouble really wasn't necessary. You're doing me a favor just by-"

Mrs. Nikos interrupted her by pushing the door open, revealing the beautiful room. Her room back at her family's mansion was opulent with marble floors, a bed bigger than five people could sleep in, ceilings almost thirty feet high, with no less than two chandeliers and her own bathroom en suite. This was far smaller but she much preferred this room. The stark white walls she was used to were instead a soft creme that invited rather than shone in the sunlight. Her curtains, bedclothes, and a rug were all a beautiful shade of blue while the modest furnishings were in various shades of white wood or silver metal.

She'd been standing there gaping long enough for Pyrrha and her Father to come up the stairs, setting a few of her bags on the floor. Pyrrha herself walked up next to Weiss, biting her lip slightly. "Do you like it?"

"It's perfect. You did all this for me?"

"Well, they helped too." she gestured to her parents. "Look, I know we're not best friends or anything, but I know moving to a new town can be really scary. It must be a lot of new things being thrown at you all at once, and I wanted you to have somewhere just to relax and unwind."

"It's beautiful, Pyrrha. Thank you." she tried not to let the emotion show through her voice. It had been a long time since someone had done something like that for her.

"Well, you get these bags in and take some time to get settled. Pyrrha thought it would be a good idea to take you out tonight so you could get a feel for the city if that's alright."

"Of course, thank you." Weiss pulled away, bowing slightly to the older couple. They returned her nod before descending down the stairs.

Mr. Nikos brought up the last of her bags and Pyrrha helped her put everything away. Her closet was a decent size and between it and the wardrobe there was room for all her clothes. The door in the back corner of her room led to the bathroom she and Pyrrha now shared. She'd never shared anything with anyone before but she didn't want to be rude, so she just slipped her toothbrush in the holder next to Pyrrha's and slid her bag of makeup in the drawer Pyrrha said was hers.

"I'm going to go get changed for dinner. Just knock on the bathroom door if you need anything."

"Alright, thank you." Weiss nodded as Pyrrha closed the bathroom door to give her some privacy.

She sat on her bed for a second, allowing herself a few moments to try and adjust. It really was a lovely home. While not as opulent as her mansion it had a kind of warmth the Schnee Manor couldn't dream of having. For once she didn't feel as if she was being watched, didn't feel that pricking on the back of her neck like her Father was going to jump out from behind a curtain any second. She almost felt….relaxed? Preposterous.

She shook off her thoughts and pulled on a white sundress with light blue flowers scattered over the fabric, redoing her hair as it'd been tousled slightly with all the taxi driving and hugs. About ten minutes later she was meeting the Nikos' in their foyer to head out together. Despite their wealth they didn't employ any staff, Mr. Nikos himself holding the door open for her and Pyrrha to slide into the back of their SUV. The trend continued as he drove them to a seafood restaurant downtown, Mrs. Nikos held the door at the restaurant open for them to walk ahead of her, and Pyrrha pulled her chair out for her. Mr. Nikos ordered an appetizer of calamari for them all to share before turning the conversation away from food.

"So Weiss, as I understand this will be your first public school experience?"

"Yes sir. I've been homeschooled all before this."

"You'll love it, don't worry." Pyrrha gave her a reassuring smile.

"What extracurriculars are you wanting to join?" Mrs. Nikos asked, taking a sip of her red wine.

"I'm sorry? I didn't know I was expected to." Weiss was casting around in her mind for an answer, but Pyrrha waved her back to reality.

"No, Weiss, they're not saying you _have_ to. They're just asking if you want to."

Weiss pretended not to see the look Pyrrha gave her parents as she thought. "Oh, well then, I'm not really sure. I was mostly going to focus on my academics."

"If that's what you want to do, that's fine honey. We just know Pyrrha enjoys her sports and clubs, and it's a great way to make new friends." Mr. Nikos nodded encouragingly at her.

His wife continued his tone, smiling at her from across the table. "Beacon has a host of sports teams, as well as clubs. There's softball, basketball, lacrosse, and there are multiple disciplines of swimming."

"Is there a dance team, or maybe ice skating?" she asked hopefully.

Pyrrha tapped her chin as she thought. "Well, there isn't an ice skating team, but I know there is a club that meets at the rink by the mall. Dance is an official sport though; there's jazz, swing, ballroom, hip hop-"

"Ballet?"

"Yeah! Mrs. Goodwitch teaches it, you'll probably have her if you have higher level maths too. She's pretty strict, but I've heard she's a great dancer." Pyrrha beamed at her.

"I can see if my schedule allows it." Weiss cast a glance at the adults, trying to regain her composure. "I put choir on my list of hopeful elective classes, but I won't be sure if I got it until I receive my schedule."

"Orientation is a good time to ask that stuff." Pyrrha took a breadstick from the basket the waiter brought, dipping it into the flavored oil. "You'll get to see all the other clubs too. Beacon has a huge extra-curricular budget, so there's something for just about everyone."

"Speaking of which, sweetie, we need to take you to Dr. Grey's to get your physical for the sign up's Monday." Mrs. Nikos likewise reached for a breadstick, tearing it into pieces.

"I know, Coco's already reminded me a hundred times."

"Who's that?" Weiss asked politely.

"Coco Adel, she's a senior. She's captain of the varsity volleyball team, so it's her job to make sure us JV runts keep in line."

"Gus?" a man asked from nearby, and they all turned to see a tall man with blonde hair reaching for Pyrrha's Dad's hand. "Fancy running into you here!"

"Tai, so good to see you!" Mr. Nikos was smiling as he took the other man's hand. "Why don't you join us?"

"Are you sure? We don't want to ruin your time with your family."

"Nonsense." Mr. Nikos waved down one of the waiters.

"Tai, this is Weiss Schnee, the exchange student we're hosting this semester. Weiss, this is Mr. Xiao Long. He's a good friend of ours."

"Pleasure to meet you." Weiss stood, taking his hand with a bow of her head.

"Likewise." he gave her a warm smile.

"Where are Yang and Ruby?" Pyrrha asked as she took his hand with familiarity.

"Somewhere behind me. Yang is still trying to wrestle Ruby into some heels."

"She never learns, does she?" Pyrrha giggled as she stood up and moved aside to let the waiters rearrange the chairs to add three more to the table.

The changed the seating so the three adults were next to each other, the two empty chairs spreading out to Mr. Xiao Long's left towards Pyrrha. Weiss felt moderately comfortable between Pyrrha and Mrs. Nikos, but the addition of so many new people was putting her more and more on edge.

Two girls walked up not a minute later, waving at the adults and giving Pyrrha a warm hug. The blonde was introduced as Yang, and her younger sister Ruby seemed almost as out of place as Weiss felt. They took seats next to Pyrrha as they all ordered, conversations breaking out after the menus had been handed back to the waiter.

"Yang, Ruby; this is Weiss."

"The exchange student, right?" Yang reached right across Pyrrha to shake Weiss's hand, but the redhead seemed not to mind.

"Yes. Nice to meet you."

"You'll love it at Beacon." Yang seemed to ooze happiness as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder. "I'm so excited to finally be a junior."

"Speak for yourself." Weiss heard the smaller girl, Ruby, mumble.

"Aw, don't be like that, sis." Yang shoved her sister's shoulder.

Weiss raised her eyebrow at Pyrrha. "Oh, Ruby skipped ahead two grades, so she's going into junior year with us straight out of middle school."

"My genius little sister." Yang ruffled her hair, but the younger girl shoved her off.

"Yang!"

"What? It's true!"

Ruby shoved off her sister's hug, running a hand over her hair before turning to Weiss. "So why did you want to transfer to Beacon?"

"I wanted to experience the culture of the kingdom of Vale, and building friendships before I go off to finishing school."

"Beacon is a great place to make friends. Everyone here is great." Yang beamed. "Hey Pyrrha, have you invited her to D&D nights?"

"Not yet, she just got here this afternoon. It's been a bit busy."

"What's D&D?"

"It's a game I play with my friends." Pyrrha explained. "I can show you when we get home, but basically it's a free form role playing game. It's really fun."

"I'm a Dragonborn Barbarian." Yang punched her fists together. "I kick butt and look badass doing it."

Weiss nodded like she understood a word these two were saying. "What do you play, Pyrrha?"

"Oh, I'm the Dungeon Master. I make the challenges the other players go through and all the NPCs and stuff. I don't so much play, as run the game."

"She's the best DM we've had so far. Nora used to do it but she put us against a dragon too early on and we all died, so we reset with Pyrrha instead and it's been great. Not nearly as seat-of-the-pants, but we haven't died yet so I guess that's a good thing." Yang shrugged.

"We meet Wednesday nights. You can sit in and watch to see if it's something you'd be interested in. It's not for everyone." Pyrrha reassured her.

"Yeah, Ruby here said it's too 'boring'." Yang rolled her eyes at her younger sister.

"It's basically an RPG game, and I'd rather play a video game than a board game. No offense Pyrrha."

"None taken." Pyrrha smiled.

"Has Coco been riding you about the physicals?" Yang asked Pyrrha, sitting up as the waiters delivered their food.

While Weiss didn't participate quite as much as the others, dinner went by pretty quickly in a steady stream of conversation. While the kids mostly talked among themselves, she kept an ear on the adult's conversation as well. She was surprised business didn't come up once, most of it being about friends or plans once their kids returned to school. From what she could gather Mr. Xiao Long was a teacher, as he seemed upset summer break was ending. After dinner the adults led them out of the restaurant and across the street to an ice cream parlor. She got in line behind the other girls, watching as they ordered so she'd know what to do.

"I'm going to need to run about a hundred miles to work this off." Pyrrha gave Weiss a sideways smile as the employee worked a bunch of strawberries into vanilla ice cream for her. "What are you getting?"

"I'm not sure yet." the sheer amount of topping and flavor combinations was a little overwhelming, and Weiss was equally as distracted by the five people behind waiting for her to decide.

"It's usually easier to ask if you want fruit fillings or something more sugary." Pyrrha gestured to Ruby's cup which was more cookies than ice cream.

"I think fruits."

Pyrrha helped her pick out a three berry blend to be folded into vanilla ice cream. After they all had their cups they took up three whole tables in the corner of the shop. Everyone seemed to be waiting to dig in (except for Ruby who Weiss saw sneaking cookies out of her cup) so she likewise waited for the Nikos' to pay and join them.

"Well Weiss we want you to know we're very excited to have you staying with us." Mrs. Nikos held up her ice cream in a kind of toast. "I think you're really going to like it here."

Weiss saw the others hold their cups up and she sat even straighter as she felt emotion trying to rise in her throat, raising the plastic tub as graciously as the finest champagne glass. "As do I."

Everyone touched their cups together before digging in. Pyrrha and Yang were joking with each other while Ruby was demolishing her dessert, the adults laughing behind them and the other patrons giving a welcome din of conversation in the shop.

It was late before they returned home, and she gratefully collapsed in her bed close to midnight. The house was quiet around her, the others having turned in just as quickly as she had, but it wasn't the uncomfortable silence she was used to. There was no tension, no holding her breath so her Father couldn't hear her crying. It was a comfortable kind of silence, the kind she felt her nerves melting into and lulling her into a blissful sleep.

The next morning she was woken bright and early by Pyrrha knocking on the bathroom door, asking if she wanted to go for a morning run. She agreed, throwing on athletic shorts and a jacket before meeting her in the garage to stretch. The nice thing about Pyrrha was she didn't make you talk if you didn't want to, taking Weiss' earbuds as a sign she would rather listen to music than chit chat. She likewise put in her music before setting off down the street at a light jog to get them warmed up. Not that Weiss was out of shape, but she realized quickly she didn't hold a candle to Pyrrha. It wasn't a particularly long run, just a few miles, but Weiss as puffing as they rounded back on Pyrrha's house while the redhead girl was all smiles. She let Weiss get the first shower, so she got in and out of their shared bathroom as quickly as possible so Pyrrha would have a chance to get ready before breakfast. She put on a pencil length black skirt and white blouse, tying a light blue silk scarf around her neck for a splash of color. She headed downstairs and followed the scent of coffee to find the kitchen, complete with Mrs. Nikos in a bathrobe making pancakes.

"Good morning Weiss." she smiled as she flipped a few more onto a large plate that was already piled pretty high. "There's coffee ready if you'd like some."

"Thank you."

"Cream is in the fridge if you need it. Breakfast will be ready as soon as the others get down here. Augustus is as slow as a turtle in the mornings." Mrs. Nikos smiled as she poured fresh batter onto the griddle. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thank you."

Mr. Nikos walked in, followed a few minutes later by Pyrrha, so breakfast was started as they all sat at the table. Weiss expected to be taken aback by the warmth of the family, and she was, but what also struck her was the disheveled state of the adults. Her Father had ingrained in her that she must always be presentable at all times, no matter what, but both the Nikos adults were in their bathrobes with tousled hair. Even Pyrrha didn't have her hair or make up done, and had only thrown on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.

"Pyrrha, your physical is at two today, so I thought maybe we could go out just us girls for the afternoon. I know you need more work out clothes, and it could give us a chance to show Weiss around a little."

"Sounds good, Mom."

"Yes, Mrs. Nikos." Weiss bowed her head on instinct as she poured the lightest amount of syrup on her pancakes as possible.

"Ari, dear, please." she gently scolded as she passed the butter to her daughter. "Did you two enjoy your run this morning?"

"It was nice to have someone to run with again." Pyrrha smiled up at Weiss. "I used to run with my friend Nessa, but her and her family moved, so it's been just me for a while."

"It was nice to run outdoors. Typically I did most of my exercising in our gym."

"I prefer the fresh air too." Pyrrha beamed. "I don't mind treadmills, but first thing in the morning is always so nice."

"Well, I'll be at the office most of the day, but I'll be home on time for date night." Mr. Nikos kissed his wife's cheek as he stood to take his plate to the sink. "If you need anything, message me. You girls have fun today!"

"Have a good day, Dad." Pyrrha waved as he walked down the hallway towards his room.

"If it's alright with you two, why don't we look to leave at around eleven?" Mrs. Nikos likewise stood.

They both agreed, offering unsuccessfully to help Mrs. Nikos with dishes before being shooed out of the kitchen by the woman. Weiss went to her room and started an email to her sister, purposefully avoiding writing her Father. After that she wrote a quick but much more personal email to Klein, then browsed through her email for an hour to kill some time. At ten thirty she made sure not a hair was out of place, her black skirt had not one wrinkle, and her purse had her spare makeup and wallet. She was ready to go at eleven on the dot, sitting on her bed to wait. Pyrrha knocked on her door and walked in wearing jeans and a cute red halter top, all smiles.

"Hey! Are you ready?"

"Yes."

She got up and followed her down the stairs. "Do you have any idea where you want to go for lunch?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lunch. Food?" Pyrrha giggled. "I know you don't know what's around here, but if you can just tell us what you want we can find a good place. There's just about everything downtown you can name."

"I suppose I'll give it some thought." she dismissed the idea, figuring they would change their mind like her Father always did on the rare times he wanted to give her the pretense of choice.

They got into Mrs. Nikos' black car, driving with the windows down in the pleasant summer day and Pyrrha turning on the radio. Weiss had heard non-classical music before, but it had usually just been snippets as they passed shops in town or when an intern had forgotten to silence their phone. Pyrrha had picked a pop station playing the current hits, and Weiss sat in the backseat listening intently. She didn't see the huge appeal, but it was nice to listen to an instrument that wasn't a piano.

They drove about ten minutes from downtown, to a mall that stretched farther than Weiss could see. Their first stop was the food court, where Weiss was seriously overwhelmed by the bustle of the crowd and the noise of all the restaurants shouting out their specials to passers-by. She'd attended the parties at her family's mansion, and even a few business conferences with her Father, but those had been civil events with hushed tones and polite conversation. Pyrrha noticed her rigid posture, taking her hand and leaning in to whisper softly.

"Riverstone Mall is the biggest in the world, I know it can be a bit much."

"Yes, it's...different from the ones at home." Weiss said slowly, sure it was true regardless of her lack of experience with either. In truth, she only frequented the high-end shops in Atlas. You had to make an appointment just to walk in, and they were incredibly exclusive venues where no more than a dozen people were at any given time.

"Don't worry, the food assortment is about the same. Mistralian food is over there, the fried chicken place is there, and I know there's a pizza place at the end. What are you in the mood for?"

"Is there somewhere you recommend?" she tried to take the easy way out, and luckily Pyrrha took the bite.

"Yeah, let me show you!"

Mrs. Nikos said she was craving pizza, so they split ways after picking a table to meet at. Pyrrha led her to a smaller build-your-own-wrap food stall. Pyrrha went first, building a high protein wrap with chicken, black beans, and spinach. Weiss followed her lead, but went with a more conservative turkey and avocado selection. Weiss insisted on paying, also swiping her card as they picked up fruit smoothies at a free standing stall in the middle of the food court before rejoining with Mrs. Nikos. They talked over their lunch, mostly between the two Nikos' as Weiss was still looking around like a blinded dear, before they threw away their trash and consulted a map of the mall. Weiss was awe-struck to see the place had over three hundred individual shops with many more kiosks and free standing booths. Pyrrha picked a sports supply store first, so they headed down one of the gigantic hallways to find an escalator.

The sports store was stocked with everything imaginable, and Weiss spent a good amount of time looking at the ice skate selections they had. They left with a paper bag stacked with more athletic clothes for Pyrrha, deciding to head to a general clothing store next. Pyrrha insisted Weiss get something with her, despite Weiss' insistence she'd brought everything she'd need. She finally agreed to get a pair of black heeled booties as they'd be more sensible for the school hallways than her usual pumps, and a light blue dress with a white lace bodice she fell in love with. While they were technically provided shoes for the school uniform, Pyrrha insisted any footwear was acceptable as long as it was solid black. She almost put both items back when Mrs. Nikos insisted on paying, but the older woman claimed it was a welcome to Vale gift, so Weiss bit her protests and thanked her generously.

They walked around for a while longer, popping in to some stores just to look around. While Weiss was sure some of the differences were due to the elitism of the stores she was used to, the fashion was considerably different. With the warmer climate there seemed to be a lot more exposed skin than she was used to seeing. Some of it was excessive in her opinion, but even Pyrrha followed the trend and Weiss could never think her indecent.

At one they left the mall, heading back towards the more residential districts to a block of doctors offices. Pyrrha was back for less than thirty minutes, brandishing a piece of paper to her Mom that she was cleared for sports. A couple blocks from the doctor was a seamstress', where Pyrrha picked up her school uniforms and Weiss got measured to order hers. The rush order would barely be ready in time, but she had been unable to get measured in Atlas before she arrived. Wrapping up their day was a quick visit to a supermarket for groceries. While Mrs. Nikos was doing her shopping, Pyrrha dragged Weiss to the junk food aisles to debate snacks.

"I don't understand, what's happening tonight?" Weiss was staring at the wall of chips like it might fall over any second and wash her away in a calorie coma.

"It's Wednesday, that means it's D&D night. It's also the one night I get to wreck my training diet." Pyrrha had a hand basket, and threw a bag of baked potato chips in. "Come on, get whatever you want."

"I don't usually eat junk food."

"Neither do I, but it's fun to just let go for a night." Pyrrha added a package of chocolate sandwich cookies and a bag of strawberry licorice. "Come on, what's your favorite?"

"I'm not sure, give me a second to look." Weiss walked over the the 'healthy' section of the aisle where Pyrrha had gotten the baked chips.

"If you want something healthier, the bakery here has some really good kale chips. They're banana chips are pretty good too, even if they're not my favorite."

"So just play your board game and eat junk food?"

"Uh, yeah. What do you do on game nights?"

"Our family nights are...different." Weiss said slowly, reaching out for a bag of low salt popcorn.

"Oh, my Mom and Dad aren't there. Since I have everyone over, Wednesday is date night for them."

"They just leave you alone in the house?"

"Well yeah. Mom said hanging around so many young kids makes her feel old. Oh, sour gummies! Yang loves these." Pyrrha tossed them in the basket.

Weiss decided any more questions would expose her abysmal life style, so she switched topics. "That's a lot of food, are you sure you guys can eat it all?"

"You haven't seen Yang go at a pizza. Trust me, there will be nothing but crumbs at about nine o'clock. Let's see, cheese puffs for Jaune and that should do this aisle. We still need to get drinks, and don't let me forget tuna for Blake."

Weiss nodded silently, following Pyrrha down the wide aisle to turn toward the fresh side of the store. Pyrrha picked up about five pounds of fresh fruit, necetating another basket Weiss was enlisted to carry, then grabbing a bunch of cookies from the bakery. Weiss took her advice and picked up two kinds of dried fruit chips, being assured Ren would eat any she didn't like, and they grabbed two packets of freshly shredded tuna from the deli before heading to the drinks aisle. Weiss then had to carry both baskets, as Pyrrha hefted a six pack of sparkling water, a twelve pack of soda cans, and a gallon of lemonade. A box of tea bags completed their haul and they met Mrs. Nikos at one of the checkout lanes. She didn't seem at all fazed about the intense amount of calories they piled on the conveyor belt, instead asking Pyrrha about what she had planned for the game.

Weiss helped them unload the groceries when they got home, having to ask where almost every single item went in the large kitchen. It was nearly three thirty once they were done, so Pyrrha went ahead and started setting up the game on the living room coffee table. She showed Weiss the cardboard game board with a grid pattern, and her vast army of plastic figurines modeled into different creatures and monsters. She showed Weiss her notebook where she had the adventure she was giving everyone all written down, Weiss seeing more math than anything else. At five Mr. Nikos came home, both of the adults retreating into their room to get ready while Pyrrha dragged out the fruit she'd bought at the store. She asked Weiss to start prepping the strawberries while she put in an order to the local pizza place for a delivery in an hour.

Weiss wasn't entirely sure how to prepare fruit, but she did know the very first step was cleaning it as 'you never knew who's grubby hands had been touching it', in the memorable words of her Father shouting at a cooking assistant when she was ten. She took the strawberries and ran them under cold water from the tap. Pyrrha walked in a few seconds later, slipping her Scroll in her pocket.

"Dinner is officially ordered."

"What did you get?"

"A large cheese, a large meat lovers, a medium supreme with half anchovies, two dozen breadsticks, and a dozen spicy garlic buffalo wings."

"On top of everything we got today?"

"I told you we could eat. Also, half of us are on sports teams so we can really put away the calories." Pyrrha smiled, taking out a knife and started on cutting up a watermelon.

She did her best in helping Pyrrha wash and cube the mountain of produce. There was a bowl almost bigger than her front and center on the counter they were piling the watermelon, pineapple, apple, and kiwis into. A knock on the front door sounded and Weiss looked for a towel to dry off her hands, but Pyrrha just shouted 'Come in!' without so much as looking up from the grapes she was washing in the sink.

"Heya, Pyr." Yang bounced in, sliding onto one of the dining table chairs and popping a strawberry in her mouth. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Are the others with you?"

"Blake ran to the bathroom, and Ren said he'd pick up Jaune today."

"We're almost done here. Can you take that bag of food to the living room? We'll be in in just a second."

"Aye aye, Cap'n. Can't wait to see what we're fighting today!" Yang took the large tote bag of junk food into the living room, her voice carrying through a second later. "Sour gummies?! You spoil me!"

"Keep that in mind once we're done tonight." Pyrrha giggled. "Weiss, why don't you take those two bowls and go ahead and head in? I'll be in once I'm done washing these grapes."

"Of course." Weiss grabbed the two smaller bowls with strawberries and sliced bananas into the living room, setting them on the second shelf of the coffee table where Yang had slid most of the junk food. She already had the gummies open and a small stack of paper sitting in front of her.

"Is that your character's information?" Weiss tried to make conversation, sitting with crossed ankles on the armchair instead of joining Yang on the floor.

"Yup! It's where I have a list of all my attacks and I keep track of my health points and stuff."

"What's been going on in the game lately?"

"Well we just got done fighting a bunch of fish people in an undersea temple, only to find out they'd been set against the townsfolk of the nearby hamlet by an evil witch. The fish people told us where her tower was, so we traveled there and cleared the first two floors before we had to go last week. If what Pyrrha said is true, we should be close to finally taking her on."

"That sounds interesting."

"No doubt. Can't wait to see how Jaune messes up this time." she gave a dramatic eye roll. "He always either manages to critically fail, or critically succeed. There is no middle ground with him."

"What does that mean?"

Yang rummaged in a little bag that was sitting on the table, pulling out a dice that had twenty sides. "This is the die we use to roll for just about every action in the game. Attacking with a sword and rolling a twenty might decapitate your enemy in one clean stroke, but rolling a one might mean you stab yourself."

"That seems...not ideal."

"Last time Jaune tried to sneak into the fish temple to scout the area despite our _many_ protests Blake, who plays a rogue, could handle it just fine. Well he critically failed and got caught and tied to a pyre to be burned alive, so we had to rush in and save him before the head priest could light his torch."

"You talking about Jaune's abysmal sneak attempt?" a girl with black hair walked into the living room.

"I'm still not over it. Blake, this is Weiss, she's the exchange student staying with Pyrrha."

Blake just nodded her head to Weiss quickly, before turning back to the blonde. "I'm going to get some tea, do you want anything?"

"Can you grab me a soda?"

The girl with the black hair walked off, Yang lowering her voice once she was gone. "Don't take it personally. She takes a while to warm up to new people."

"Of course." Weiss said casually.

Another knock sounded, and Pyrrha called for them to come in again. Three people walked in, two boys and a girl. Pyrrha was just walking into the living room with the enormous bowl of fruit finally all prepared.

"Good to see you guys!"

"I've missed you so much!" the new girl rushed over and hugged Pyrrha enthusiastically, bowl and all. She was also red headed, but her hair had more of an orange tint than Pyrrha's fire engine red locks. She was shorter too, but that didn't seem to matter to her as she picked Pyrrha clean off her feet.

"I've missed you too, Nora." Pyrrha laughed, not at all fazed by the exuberant hug.

"Ready to give it to this evil witch!" the girl finally let Pyrrha go, clapping her hands.

"We're almost ready." Pyrrha set the bowl down, giving one of the other boys a wide smile.

He was nothing special if she was being honest, a kind of wiry boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. The last new edition was a boy with black hair who had taken a seat on the floor quietly, and who was now being draped in a hug by Nora.

"Weiss, this is Jaune Arc and Lie Ren, two more of our friends from Beacon. This is Nora, and of course you know Yang. Everyone, this is Weiss. She's going to be watching us tonight."

"Sure, sure; let's just get this show on the road!" Yang bumped her fists together. "Akra Goldenscale is itching for a fight."

"Alright, everyone get your stuff out." Pyrrha just rolled her eyes, taking the seat of honor at the 'head' of the coffee table and opening her black notebook.

Everyone sat around the table and Weiss felt the buzz of excitement as Pyrrha explained to them what they saw on the third floor of the witch's tower. They were in their second turn of combat against some acolytes when Mr. and Mrs. Nikos walked through. Mrs. Nikos was in a pretty brown dress and Mr. Nikos was in a sharp red collared shirt.

"You look nice, Ari!" Nora beamed at her.

"Thank you Nora. How's the game going?" she smiled as her husband went to get his keys.

"Just got started but it seems too easy. I have a feeling Pyrrha is planning something tricky." Blake shot Pyrrha a teasing look.

Pyrrha batted her eyelashes innocently. "Now Blake, does that sound like me?"

"Yes." all the teenagers said simultaneously, causing everyone to erupt into laughter.

"Well you kids have fun, we'll be back pretty late sweetie so don't wait up."

"Have fun!" Pyrrha waved her parents off as she rolled the dice to see if acolyte number three hit Yang with his spell.

They walked out the door, Mr. Nikos popping his head back in before the door shut fully. "Pizza's here, guys!"

"Weiss, would you mind to get it? I already paid for it, and the tip is on the table by the door."

"Of course." she stood up and walked towards the door.

The delivery guy was walking up the path as she opened the door, giving her a smile as he slung his bag open. "Can you carry it all?"

"Yes." Weiss probably lied, only then remembering the sheer amount of food Pyrrha had ordered.

She handed him his tip which he stuffed in his pocket, slowly handing her the stack of hot cardboard boxes. They came almsot over her head, but she thanked him and closed the door with her foot before returning to the living room.

The night was pretty fun, and it was enjoyable to see Pyrrha so happy. She didn't understand all the jokes that were being said, and Yang's puns made her want to cringe more the laugh, but she was grateful to get some experience with kids in the area before she had to go to school full time. The group made it up to the witch's chambers and after a grueling hour long battle, finally defeating her with a final stab to the back delivered by Blake's character with a particularly high stealth roll. The witch fell with an agonizing cry, expertly acted out by Pyrrha to rounds of laughter, before it turned into manic giggles as she dissolved into mist and four elementals appeared from a charmed mirror and attacked the group. After a round of accusatory teasing from the others, they were quickly dealt with and the tower finally cleared. A quick few minutes of searching for clues to the witch's true location, and Pyrrha clapped her hands to call it a night.

Throughout the intense game play, the living room had been partially trashed. One of the pizza boxes was sitting on the couch, the packages and wrappers had been strewn around, and cups were on nearly every flat surface available. Weiss had never seen a place so deeply messy in her life, but after Pyrrha concluded the game the others were quick to fetch a trash bag and help clean up. It was spotless again in less than five minutes and she had to admit she was impressed. It was close to ten at night so the others didn't hang around for long. After saying their goodnights they filed out in pairs, finally leaving the house quiet.

"So, what did you think?" Pyrrha asked as she carefully put up the game pieces.

"It seems very tactical."

"It can be. That was a boss fight. Now that they're between story arcs, usually they get up to hijinks once they return to a town. Last time they're crew had a break Yang got into a bar fight over a pineapple and Blake had to bust her out of jail."

"I think, if the others wouldn't mind, it could be fun to join."

"Excellent! I can help you with your character sheet tomorrow maybe. You're welcome to look through my books over there on the shelf if you want to read up on the game a little. I mostly use them for reference to monsters and stuff, so I won't need them until I work on the next bit in the campaign."

"I appreciate it, and your offer to sit in tonight."

"It's no problem. We're always up for one more to join. What did you think of the group?"

"Are they the friends you spend time with at school?"

Pyrrha nodded. "We have lunch together, but usually that's the only place during school hours we all see each other. We're all in different clubs and sports, not to mention some of them have jobs and are ebusy after school. Wednesday nights are kind of like our holy day to relax and hang out."

"They seem very nice, if a bit...eccentric."

"All the best people are." she smiled before giving a wide yawn. "I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight." Weiss nodded her head as Pyrrha headed up the stairs.

The next morning, after another refreshing run with Pyrrha, Weiss sat in the living room and perused the book Pyrrha had mentioned. It was all pretty interesting, and her and Pyrrha talked in depth about it over a lunch of sandwiches with Mrs. Nikos. The rest of the day was spent bent over her character sheet and scribbling down her long list of spells, but it was pretty fun with Pyrrha talking of all the adventures the group got up to. Dinner was thankfully more relaxed, Mrs. Nikos serving a delicious lasagna as Mr. Nikos talked about his day at the office.

Friday night she accompanied Pyrrha to a movie at the local theatre with the other girls. It was Blake's turn to pick the movie, so it was an action romance based in feudal Menagerie. Between Yang, Blake, Ruby, Nora, and Pyrrha, they said hi to just about every person they passed in line. Someone was always waving or coming right up and asking about how their summer was going. Pyrrha always dutifully introduced Weiss but very people seemed very interested, and Weiss had to admit it was nice to blend into the background for a while.

The weekend was spent in moderate relaxation, only bringing a trip to a burger place Saturday night was Mrs. Nikos said she didn't feel like cooking. Monday morning Weiss made sure she took extra care in her post-jog shower. She put on the light blue dress she'd got with Pyrrha at the mall, and put her hair up in her traditional side ponytail. A swipe of eyeliner and a flutter of mascara completed the look, adding some blue pumps to give her a few more inches of height. At noon exactly she was waiting in the foyer of the house, being joined by the two Nikos women not a minute later. She sat stoically in the backseat of Mrs. Nikos' black car, back as straight as an arrow.

"Are you nervous?" Pyrrha asked, glancing back from the passenger seat.

"Of course not."

She cast a look at her Mom before turning back to Weiss. "Well that's good. I'll be with you the whole time, don't worry."

"I appreciate it Pyrrha, but I'm not worried. Orientation is specifically designed to inform those who are otherwise unaware."

"You're right." she smirked. "Junior orientation is at one, but I wanted to come early to give you a good look at the club booths. They go all out for the freshman and it's a good place to see what Beacon has to offer."

"Thank you for the foresight." Weiss nodded her head again, and Pyrrha seemingly gave up, turning the radio to an alternative station that did nothing but grate against Weiss' nerves.

Beacon High was a fairly large school, and was currently packed with a hundred eager freshman recently done with orientation. In the cafeteria they had a 'Club Fair' where all the clubs of the school had a little folding table set up. Mrs. Nikos said she would be waiting in the auditorium where a lot of the other junior parents were already seated and waiting.

Pyrrha took her around the booths that were already taking things down now that the freshman were gone. Lots of the adults and students alike waved to her, but Pyrrha kept her focus on Weiss.

"So, anything strike your interest?"

"You said there was a dance class?"

"Yup, come over here." Pyrrha took her hand, dragging her over to a man with blonde hair Weiss thought looked familiar. "Tai!"

"Ah, Pyrrha, nice to see you again. And Weiss, as well." he nodded as he was folding up a canvas banner. "What's up?"

"Do you know if Mrs. Goodwitch is accepting ballet students?"

Yang's Dad, who Weiss could place now, looked over at her. "I'm not sure. What grade are you going into?"

"Eleventh."

"That's something you'd have to ask her specifically, since it's a more advanced class. She's in the auditorium if you want to talk to her."

"Thanks!" Pyrrha waved as she dragged Weiss off to the largest auditorium Weiss had seen outside of a professional concert hall. Pyrrha dragged her right up to the stage were a huddle of adults were talking to each other. "Mrs. Goodwitch?"

"Ah, Mrs. Nikos, how are you? I hope your enjoying your summer vacation." A blonde woman with a severe bun turned away from the others, looking over her glasses at Weiss immediately.

"As you know my family has a transfer student staying with us this semester, and she would like to see if she could join your ballet class."

"Have you danced before?" the woman didn't take her electric green eyes off of Weiss.

"Yes ma'am."

"Are you a competent dancer?"

"Yes ma'am."

She thought for a moment, her lips pressed into a thoughtful line. "I don't have practice after the first day of school. If you want to join my class, report to dance studio 'B' at four sharp to audition."

"Thank you, I will." Weiss gave a deeper bow of her head, trying her best not to fall into a full curtsy, as she sensed Mrs. Goodwitch was the kind of woman to care about such things.

"Thanks Mrs. Goodwitch." Pyrrha smiled as they turned to leave the auditorium once again. "See, that wasn't so bad."

"I just hope I can live up to her expectations."

"I have no doubt you can." Pyrrha beamed at her as they walked back into the cafeteria. "Why don't I give you the tour since we have some time to kill?"

More students from the older years were pouring in through the doors, either in groups or accompanied by their parents. Pyrrha waved to most of them but kept walking until they were back to the foyer of the school. From there she showed Weiss the school offices and library, and pointed out the wings of the school that all branched off the central hub of the building. There indeed seemed to be a branch for just about everything Weiss could think of. The athletic branch of the school was almost half of the grounds, but the art and culinary wings were by no means skimpy. She took extra care to show Weiss the dance hall in the athletic wing, specifically pointing out the studio where she'd be auditioning in one week's time. As it got closer to one they made their way back to the auditorium just in time to find Mrs. Nikos and take their seats.

A man with grey hair took the stage, clutching a cane in one hand a coffee cup in the other. "Greetings, students. Welcome back, as I'm sure you all are just clamoring to hear."

A wave of chuckles and groans met his statement.

"As usual, after the presentation if you'll come up in an orderly fashion and find your administrator to get your schedule and locker number. I look forward to spending another year getting to see you all learn and grow, and I know this will be one of our best semesters yet."

He walked off the stage to a light amount of clapping, admitting Mrs. Goodwitch to take the stage. She had a slide show presentation ready detailing everything from parking passes to a reminder of some of the more frequently broken rules. After a brief overview of the attendance policy she dismissed the mass of students who then jostled in the aisles to get their schedules. They had to wait almost twenty minutes before each of them were handed a manilla folder by a woman with brown hair and glasses.

Weiss' was a good deal thicker, but there was no time to look through it as Pyrrha was already leading her back to Mrs. Nikos. She was chatting with a group of adults and gave her daughter a smile as she caught sight of her.

"You get everything?"

Pyrrha waved her folder. "Yup!"

"Everyone was talking about going to the Wok to get ramen. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, I'm starving! Weiss?"

"Sounds delicious." Weiss bowed her head and the adults all nodded.

Ten minutes later they were in a crowded noodle shop not two blocks from the school, squeezed between what seemed half the Beacon crowd who had likewise felt the need for noodles. Weiss saw Yang and Ruby with their Dad at the front of the line, heading towards a table where Jaune was already sitting with two women, one of whom was bouncing a baby on her lap. Blake was behind the Xiao Long's with a mountain of a man and a small woman who she assumed were her parents. Pyrrha noticed her staring, bending closer to talk in Weiss' ear.

"Those are Blake's parents Kail and Ghira, and over at the table is Jaune's sister Saphron with her wife Terra and their son Adrian."

"Are the others' parents going to be here?"

She shook her head. "Ren and Nora's foster parents are usually busy, so they'll be alone."

They ordered their noodles and joined the large group in the corner. All the adults she wasn't familiar with shook her hand and extended greeting before the table broke out into about five different conversations. Weiss wasn't sure who to listen to, so she just kept to herself and let her eyes roam over the shop. It indeed felt like half of the school had come over, and she was sure the capacity well exceeded the fire code limit. A group of older-looking students were in the corner laughing over a joke someone had told. Lots of the smaller tables had students with their parents, or a combination like their table was. She caught sight of a group of boys about their age, obviously still waiting on their orders as they were busy playing a game with each other on their Scrolls. While she was observing one of them, a boy with blue hair, looked up to see her staring. She blushed and looked away immediately, but it was easy to feel his eyes staring at her every once in a while.

Their orders were called in rapid succession which Blake's Dad Ghira collected in his massive arms. Weiss had a bowl almost as big as her entire head placed before her, but the others were just grabbing their chopsticks like this was the most natural size of food. She timidly went after the abnormal amount of food, not knowing how she would ever be able to finish it. It was delicious with just the right amount of salt and umami flavor, but not a third of the way she'd had her fill. She felt incredibly guilty about the food waste but it seemed the others were likewise having problems. Once it looked like everyone was done Yang got up and went to the counter, bringing back a dozen plastic containers and a sharpie marker. They passed out the containers and everyone poured their remaining soup into it, writing their name with the marker before passing it on. Weiss followed their lead without really knowing why. As everyone started saying their goodbyes they picked up their container so she did too, taking each of the adults hands and thanking them for their welcomes.

She felt a little foolish sitting in the backseat with a container of warm noodles in her lap, but there was no cup holder to put hers in like Pyrrha and her Mom had in the front. Once they got home she followed Pyrrha into the kitchen, watching her place them in the fridge. She slid hers next to them, closing the fridge.

"So what are those for?"

"The leftovers?" Pyrrha raised her eyebrow inquisitively.

"Yes." she said softly, knowing it was an odd question.

"Well, they're leftovers. You saw those bowls, no one save for maybe Ghira could finish a whole one."

"Why not just order a smaller bowl?"

"The Wok only has one size."

"So you just...eat them later?"

"Yeah. Usually we have leftover nights on Tuesdays, to eat up all the food that we've made through the week."

"Really?"

"You don't have leftover nights in your house?"

Weiss turned away, seemingly busy with rearranging some magnets on the fridge door so they'd sit neater. "Not really. I don't know what happens to the food we don't eat."

"Oh. Well I guess each family is different. I think I'm going to go for a jog, do you want to come?"

"Oum no, I think I'd be sick after all that food." Weiss smiled, trying to ease the tension off. "I think I'm going to write my sister."

"Well alright, have fun." Pyrrha waved as she headed for the stairs.

That night as they were eating dinner Mr. Nikos cleared his throat, making eye contact with Weiss as she looked up. "Pyrrha tells us you have an audition for the Beacon ballet class Monday."

"Yes Mr. Nikos."

"Augustus, please."

"Yes, Mr. Augustus."

He laughed, but seeing Weiss's straight face he merely cleared his throat again and continued on. "Do you have everything you need? You need those special shoes, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, I suppose I will." Weiss remembered her ballet things sitting in a box in her closet back in Atlas. "I can write my butler to send them in the mail. Maybe Mrs. Goodwitch won't mind rescheduling if they don't come in time. I didn't even think of it."

"I don't think she'd _mind_, but Mrs. Goodwitch is a stickler for punctuality and preparedness. It wouldn't make a good first impression." Pyrrha cut in, stabbing the last carrot from her plate.

"Well dear." Mrs. Nikos cut in. "I took the liberty of making you a fitting appointment at a local dance supply shoppe for tomorrow. If you'd like, we can go get you a few things to tide you over until you can get your things from home."

"Would it be too much trouble if I could get a ride to the appointment?" Weiss looked over to the two adults who seemed a little taken aback.

"Of course dear, we wouldn't make it and then expect you to find you own ride." Mr. Nikos gave a nervous kind of chuckle, like he couldn't decided whether humor would make the situation better or not. "I bring it up because, well, correct me if I'm wrong because I know nothing about ballet but you need one of those bar things to practice, correct?"

"Yes sir, a barre."

"Well we have a little space in the garage. If you'd like, we could set one up in there so you could practice at home."

Weiss blinked a few times. "Are you sure?"

"Of course Weiss. I don't mean to sound rude, but ballet seems to be the first thing beyond academics you've been interested in since you got here. I know everything is so new, and it must be overwhelming, but we want you to embrace what makes you happy." Mrs. Nikos gave her a warm smile.

"That would be very convenient if you're sure it's not too much trouble. I promise I'll put it to good use. The school calender says there are four ballet performances this year. I can try my best to audition and get a significant role to show you I'm not-"

"Weiss." Pyrrha reached over, taking her hand. "It's okay. They just want to get you something nice. It doesn't mean you have to be the best ballerina that's ever existed. They just want to get you something that makes you happy."

"Oh." Weiss turned back to the adults and bowed her head. "That would make me very happy, thank you for the offer."

"The fitting is for eleven tomorrow morning. We can go with you if you'd like, and afterwards we can go to the store to get the last of your school supplies since you girls have your lists now." Mrs. Nikos smiled as she got up to clear off the table.

"Yes ma'am, I can be ready by ten thirty."

Weiss excused herself from the table shortly after, going to her room and closing the door for some privacy. She sat on her bed to think over the offer, battling with her own emotions in her head. She was still sitting on her comforter staring at the wall when a soft knock on the bathroom door sounded.

"Come in." she said softly, admitting Pyrrha who was holding a small square of fudge in her hand.

"Peace offering?"

"Thank you, but there's no need. I'm not upset with you."

"I know, I just thought you could use a little home cooking to pick up your spirits." Pyrrha handed her the sweet, sitting on the bed next to her. "Can I ask you something Weiss?"

"Of course." she popped it into her mouth, savoring the dark chocolate bitterness.

"Your Dad isn't very...compassionate, is he?"

She broke eye contact on instinct, the delicious food turning to sawdust in her mouth. "Of course he is. My Father loves me very much, and I love him."

She saw Pyrrha nod out of the corner of her eye. "I see."

"My lifestyle just varies compared to yours."

"Well I know we come from different countries and families, but you know I'm always here if you need to talk to me."

"I understand, thank you for offering."

She seemed deep in thought for a second, and Weiss thought she was going to press her, but instead she brought her knees to her chest, hugging them as she was lost in thought. "Can I tell you something then, and you promise not to tell anyone?"

"I promise not to tell anyone."

"I like Jaune." she blushed as she looked up to Weiss. "Like, really like him."

"He seems...charming." Weiss didn't see the appeal, but she would have said anything to get them off the topic of her family.

"I thought he liked me too, but we've known each other for so long and he still hasn't asked me on a date. If he does like me, why hasn't he made a move?"

"Maybe he thinks you're too busy, or maybe he's just shy. I don't really know him, but if you like him then you should make a move."

"You think so?"

"Of course. In fact, you should do it right now."

"What?"

Weiss pointed to the Scroll in Pyrrha's pocket. "Call him and ask him to a movie."

"I can't just call him and ask him out."

"Why not?"

"What if he says no?"

Weiss shrugged. "Then you know once and for all how he feels."

Pyrrha bit her lip before slowly pulling out her Scroll. She clicked on Jaune's profile and stared at the green 'call' symbol.

"Nope, I can't do it." she moved to discard it on the bed but Weiss smoothly caught it, hitting the button before Pyrrha could stop her. It rang all of half a tone before he picked up.

Pyrrha's eyes grew wide in panic as his 'Hello?' sounded through the speaker. Weiss held out the phone with an expectant look as Pyrrha was staring in horror at the screen. Seeing the girl was frozen she clicked the speaker button, deploying her best Pyrrha impersonation.

"Jaune?"

"Hey Pyrrha, what's up?"

Pyrrha was in full-blown panic mode, but she managed to choke out a response. "How- how's your night?"

"Just going through my schedule for school. I can already tell chemistry is going to kick my butt."

"Don't worry, I can help you if you need it." Pyrrha visibly relaxed a little, a line of worry wedging between her eyes at the sound of dread in his voice.

"Thanks. I wouldn't have passed geometry if it weren't for you."

Weiss waved her hand in the air, gesturing for Pyrrha to get a move on. "Speaking of...geometry, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose as Jaune sounded confused on the other end. "Tomorrow night? Nothing, why? Are you doing geometry?"

"No, but maybe you want to talk about it? Over dinner and a movie or something?"

"You want to talk about geometry over dinner with me?"

Pyrrha looked at Weiss who just shrugged. "It doesn't have to be geometry. I'm more just wanting to know if you'd like to go to dinner and a movie with me."

There was a long pause on the other end, and she could practically see Pyrrha's heart rate rising the longer it went on.

"Are you asking me on a date?"

Weiss gave Pyrrha a sturdy nod, causing the other girl to take a deep breath and square her shoulders. "Yes, I am. Would you be interested in going on a date with me?"

They heard girlish squeals in the background who Weiss could only assume was Jaune's sisters, and Pyrrha's cheeks grew as red as her hair.

"Ignore them. They, uh, just saw Adrian do something really cute."

"Of course." Pyrrha was too busy glaring at Weiss's barely suppressed smile to take too much notice.

"That'd be really cool. A date, I mean. You said tomorrow?"

"Yes, if that works with your schedule."

"Of course. I can come pick you up at, say, six?"

"That sounds good."

"Good."

"Good."

An awkward silence settled in, in which Weiss tried her best not to bust out laughing. Pyrrha cleared her throat, clearly wanting to dispel the tension.

"Well I have to go do...homework. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah me too. See you tomorrow, Pyr." Jaune sounded relieved as he clicked the end button.

"That was a terrible idea." Pyrrha groaned, leaning over to bury her face in one of Weiss' pillows.

"How? You have a date now, don't you?"

"That was so embarrassing. I won't be able to face him tomorrow."

"You're Pyrrha Nikos, you can face anything." Weiss rolled her eyes, turning to face her instead of flinging herself down in such an undignified fashion. "I had my suspicions when he came in on D&D night. You looked at him differently than everyone else."

"Really?" Pyrrha peeked up.

"You're always friendly, but the smile you gave him seemed a little bit more special."

"I'm hopeless." Pyrrha reburied her head, her voice sounded muffled as she continued to talk. "Yang and Nora said something like that too, and I know Blake knows. I think the only one who doesn't is Ruby, because she doesn't spend a lot of time with us."

"Well now you don't have to worry about it."

"What if it crashes and burns? What if our entire friend group dissolves into chaos because we don't work well as a couple. What if-"

"You're a Nikos, Pyrrha. Your family is both wealthy and powerful, a name to be respected. If this date goes horrible, which is highly unlikely I might remind you, then you deal with that when you come to it. Until then, all you can do is make sure you're as prepared as possible."

"You're right." Pyrrha flipped over to lay on her back. "We're really good friends. I think even if we had one bad date it'd be okay."

"Sure." Weiss sighed, making sure the door was closed before laying on the bed next to Weiss.

"Have you ever been on a date, Weiss?"

"In a way, yes."

"How is it?"

"I don't think you want my advi- you mean you haven't?"

Pyrrha shrugged. "I'm always too busy, and I never really saw the appeal until I met Jaune."

"I see." Weiss shook her head, clearly indicating she did not.

Weiss felt Pyrrha shuffle and assumed she was getting up, but the thought was cut short as a pillow nailed her full in the face.

"Hey!"

"That's for pressing the call button!"

She cowered back, but seeing Pyrrha's wide smile she realized she was just teasing. Pyrrha gave an odd look at the response, and Weiss realized she had thrown her arms in front of her face for protection. Realizing how it looked, she scrambled to find a way to gloss over the moment.

"I'm sorry if I upset you."

"You didn't upset me, it's just sometimes a little tough love can suck." she regained her smile, keeping the pillow in her hands as if she was expecting something.

Weiss reasoned she was inviting her to hit her back and as uncomfortable as she was with it, she didn't want Pyrrha thinking any harder on her cowering than she probably already was. She picked up the softest pillow on her bed and lightly swung it at her, barely tapping her on the arm.

Pyrrha laughed, probably a little too enthusiastic to be completely genuine, starting an all-out pillow war on Weiss's bed. Something about them both looking pretty shabby; Weiss's hair was now a mess and Pyrrha's wasn't even in her traditional ponytail, just made the moment seem a lot more goofy. Despite her initial recoil she felt a bubble of playfulness rising up she hadn't felt in years. Pyrrha had grabbed one of the decorative throw pillows to use as a shield, using a fluffy sleeping pillow as her weapon of choice. Weiss managed to wrap the spare blanket around her hand and was using it to bat away Pyrrha's attacks. They were balanced on top of the bed like some form of weird battleground, lashing at each other with fluffy sleep tools.

They were making such a racket Weiss didn't hear the knock on her door, only seeing Mrs. Nikos once she was standing in the doorway laughing at the two girls.

Weiss was off the bed and straightening her dress in an instant, resuming her rigid posture.

"Apologies, Mrs. Nikos."

"Nonsense, Weiss. It's good to see you girls having fun." she looked to her daughter who jumped off the bed to land next to Weiss.

"What's up Mom?"

"Kail just called and said they managed to get tickets to the water park for Saturday. She was wanting to know if you girls wanted to go, as an end of summer break treat."

"Yeah! That sounds fun!"

"Extend my thanks to her, if you please." Weiss was in full business mode, not entirely sure Mrs. Nikos wouldn't turn around and berate them both for horsing around.

"Perfect. You girls sleep good now, and mind the lamp." she smiled as she closed the door again, causing Weiss' shoulders to relax slightly.

"I should head to bed." Pyrrha handed Weiss back her pillow.

"I as well, it seems we have a busy day tomorrow."

Pyrrha headed for the bathroom door, stopping before she walked through. "I'm still mad about it, but thanks. For the Jaune thing."

"You're the one who asked him, I just pressed a button."

Pyrrha just rolled her eyes as she stepped through, closing the door behind her. Weiss looked to her thoroughly tousled bed and couldn't fight back a smile. It had been so long since she'd played with anyone, she'd almost forgotten how fun it was.

The next morning they were at the dance shoppe at precisely eleven for her fitting, taking about an hour between the shoes and leotards. Luckily they had six pairs of the shoes Weiss fit, and she managed with size one leotards off the rack. She picked up three light chiffon skirts as well, on top of four pairs of tights. After she was done with her clothes she found Pyrrha and Mrs. Nikos talking to the cashier, a large box on a cart standing next to them. A roll of non-slip flooring was on top, probably making the thing weigh over a hundred pounds easy.

"Do you have everything you need, sweetie?" Mrs. Nikos smiled as Weiss set the items on the counter.

"Yes ma'am."

"Is this barre alright?"

Weiss bent down to look at the label. "Yes ma'am, this should be fine."

"Perfect." Mrs. Nikos took the handle of the cart and started pushing it out of the shop while Weiss paid for her clothes. She made sure her oder for more shoes was placed, and that all her contact information was the same.

They headed to a nearby office supply store afterwards for their school supplies, something Pyrrha seemed thoroughly enthused about. She got colorful folders and pens, while Weiss chose standard white fare in the way of supplies.

Their shopping was done quickly, and a quick stop at a sandwich shop completes the trip. Weiss took her things into her room and piled them on her desk, resigning to leave them there while she went to help Pyrrha wrestle the barre out of the back of Mrs. Nikos' car. She forwent preparing her shoes to sit on Pyrrha's bed and help her get ready for her date. She tossed out about half her closet before she finally settled on a black miniskirt and red halter top with tall brown boots. It was a very fall-inspired look but it complimented her red hair well, so Weiss gave it her seal of approval.

Pyrrha then spent the next two hours pacing in the living room while Weiss was reading through the papers the school had given her.

"What if he doesn't show up?"

"We both know Jaune isn't the flaky type, dear." Mrs. Nikos was trying her best to hide her smile behind her book.

The front door handle jiggled and Pyrrha looked like she was about to faint, before seeing Mr. Nikos walk in with briefcase in hand.

"Ugh, it's just Dad." Pyrrha groaned, resuming her pacing.

"Well it's good to see you too." he chuckled.

"She's waiting for Jaune."

"I thought he was picking you up at six." he checked his watch. "You have another hour."

"Tell us about it." Mrs. Nikos smiled. "Hi dear, how was work?"

"Good, how was your day?" he pecked her on the lips as he loosened his tie.

"Got the rest of the girl's things. I have a chicken in the oven for dinner."

"Sounds perfect, the meeting this afternoon ran late so I didn't get much of a lunch. Weiss, did you get your barre?"

She looked up from her reading, startled by the mention of her name. "Sorry sir?"

"Your ballet barre, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Would you want to help me put it together before dinner?"

"Put it together?"

"Yes. Build it, you know? So you can use it?"

"Oh, yes, I can assist you." she hadn't even thought of who was going to build it, and it occurred to her for about the hundredth time the Nikos' didn't employ a butler.

"Let me change into something more comfortable and I can meet you in the garage." he nodded before walking off to his room.

"And take Pyrrha with you before she paces a hole in the carpet." Mrs. Nikos nodded to her daughter.

Weiss threaded her arm though Pyrrha's leading her into the garage and opening the large door to let in some air and more light. Pyrrha helped her drag the large box over to the empty corner of the garage and cut the tape off. Mr. Nikos walked in as they started pulling out the long wooden bar and the bags of screws. He quickly sorted through everything and had the base of the barre standing in no time. Luckily the ordeal seemed to distract Pyrrha, as Weiss had no idea the differences between the screwdriver tools, so Pyrrha was having to hand him whatever he asked for. In no time at all it was assembled and standing against the wall of the garage, the roll of non-slip flooring rolled next to it. Mr. Nikos went inside while Weiss kept Pyrrha company in the garage, preparing her shoes while she paced some more.

"Why do you have to do that?" Pyrrha gestured to Weiss who was currently working her shoes between her hands.

"The box, that's this big part on the end I stand on when on pointe, it's really stiff fresh out of the box. I need to soften it up so it's more comfortable when I dance on it."

"Why don't you just get it softer?"

"They don't make them like that. It needs to be strong enough to support me weight so it's easier to make it hard and I soften it, making it too soft wouldn't give me the support I need and I'd break both my ankles in about a minute."

"Why did you get so many pairs if it takes so long to just one comfortable?"

"They don't last very long. The more they use them, the more worn they become, and you have to throw them out."

"Really? I didn't know that."

Weiss nodded as she slid her foot in the shoe, pressing her weight down to further work the touch material. "Professionals go through six pairs a week sometimes, depending on how much they have to dance."

"How long will all those we got today last you?"

Weiss shrugged. "A month, two maybe, depends on how much I'm on them."

Pyrrha picked up a length of ribbon. "What's this for?"

"To sew onto the shoe. You sew on elastic to keep it on your foot, but elastic is ugly to you sew on ribbon to cover it up."

"Ugly? Does it really matter? If it keeps the shoe in place then it needs to be there."

"A lot of ballet is about appearances."

"I thought it was about dancing." Pyrrha smirked.

"If that was an attempt at a joke, it was a poor one." Weiss rolled her eyes.

A car door shut on the street and Pyrrha about jumped out of her skin, turning to see Jaune walking up the driveway.

"I can't do this." she panic whispered to Weiss as she waved.

"Of course you can. Hi Jaune."

"Hello Weiss. Hey Pyrrha, you look nice."

"Thank you, so do you." she reached out to return his hug.

"Are you ready?"

"Let me run into grab my purse and tell my parents bye."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I don't want my Mom making a big deal. I'll be just a second." she disappeared through the garage door.

"Hi." Jaune said awkwardly after a few seconds.

"Hello." Weiss was turned away from him at the bar, going through her positions to get a feel for her feet.

"You dance?"

"Yes."

"Are you joining the team at Beacon?"

"I audition for Mrs. Goodwitch Monday to see if I can qualify."

"Ah. Mrs. Goodwitch is nice, I think you'll like her."

"So I've heard." she stretched some more, avoiding eye contact so she could ignore the awkwardness. "Where are you two going tonight?"

"Rosso's, a seafood place Pyrrha likes, then going to see that new Spruce Willis movie."

"Sounds like fun."

"I hope so. Don't tell her but," he looked up at the door to make sure it was closed. "I've liked Pyrrha for a while I was just too scared to ask her out."

"Why?"

"Pyrrha is just so...perfect, you know?" he ran his hand through his hair with a smile, and she saw an embarrassed smile. "I didn't think I was good enough for her."

"I don't think Pyrrha thinks that."

"I know, I know; but it's hard not to feel that way. She deserves the perfect guy because she's the perfect girl, and I am far from perfect."

"No one is perfect." she said simply, turning back to her barre.

"Alright, I'm ready." Pyrrha rushed into the garage, sliding the strap of her brown purse over her shoulder.

"Have fun." Weiss waved as they walked down the driveway.

After dinner Weiss returned to her room, putting aside ballet to focus on her studies. Her schedule was full of advanced classes and she didn't want to be left behind in a single subject. She wouldn't get her textbooks until the first day, but her course syllabus' outlined the curriculum so she could do some research on her own to get the basics.

Despite her confidence, she felt nerves creeping up her back the more she thought about her first day and she only knew how to do one thing to battle nerves: practice like a woman possessed. She focused on advanced chemistry because it looked to be the most complicated subject, working for hours taking note sin one of her new journals.

Close to eleven she heard the front door open and close, Pyrrha knocking on her bedroom door not a minute later. "Come in." she said calmly, setting her pen down.

"Weiss!" Pyrrha came barreling in like a bullet from a gun, crushing her in a hug. "It was perfect! He was such a gentleman, and it was so nice not to feel like I have to hide how I feel." Pyrrha flopped onto her bed.

"I'm glad. So I take it it wasn't a horrible disaster that will rip apart your group of friends?"

Pyrrha threw a pillow at her. "I was nervous, cut me some slack."

Weiss smoothly caught it with a smirk. "I told you everything would be fine."

"I had so much fun. Thank you so much for pushing me into it."

"Are you two going out again?"

"We can't this week. Tomorrow is D&D night, and Saturday we're all going to the waterpark as a group. Once school starts and things settle down I'm sure we'll work it out."

"At least you will still get to see him."

"Yeah." Pyrrha gave a small smile, hopping up." I should get some sleep. See you in the morning?"

"See you in the morning." Weiss nodded her head.

She heard Pyrrha turn on the shower a few minutes later and cheery singing echoed from the bathroom, making her smile as she slipped into her pajamas and laid down.

She spent most of Wednesday studying, only being pulled away to go to the store for the weekly junk food run and help Pyrrha prepare for the group. At five-thirty exactly Pyrrha's parents walked out for date night as the group walked in. While everyone was distracted grabbing their snacks from the grocery trip, Jaune leaned over and gave Pyrrha a kiss on the cheek which made her smile brighter than the sun. He made sure to sit next to her, and Weiss did her part in distracting the others by asking lots of questions about the game and their characters.

Not that it was all subterfuge. Even after her extensive reading she was oblivious to a lot of the game. They started in a town close to the tower they'd recently cleared, only to hear the witch they'd been after had been caught and was sitting in the dungeons. They of course rushed down to find a white haired high elf in magical chains.

Weiss gave Pyrrha a deadpan look. "What an introduction."

"You come up with a better one."

"Oh poor, shackled mage. Who hath done this to you?" Nora dramatically asked in a horrible attempt at a high-society Atlesian accent she had given her character for some reason.

"These buffoons think I'm some crazed sorceress!" Weiss tried her best to sound annoyed, which wasn't hard.

"I mean to be fair, you _are_ a sorceress by definition." Blake pointed out, earning her a glare from the new player.

"Fine. 'These buffoons think I'm some crazed evil lady!' Better?"

"You poor soul. Guards, release her at once!" Yang shouted at Pyrrha. "Can you not see this maiden is innocent?"

Pyrrha dropped her voice a few octaves, voicing one of the guards. "Beg your pardon great Goldenscale hero, but she fits the description you gave us."

"Quick question." Blake drummed her fingers on the coffee table. "What part of 'she's an insanely dangerous magical user that will kill anyone on sight' made you think capturing her would be so easy?"

"Hey! I will have you know I put up _quite_ the fight!" Weiss huffed.

"Still managed to get captured." Blake shrugged, stealing a gummy from Yang.

"I was ambushed! I'm the victim here!"

Pyrrha ignored her, keeping her voice low for the guard. "We just thought we...caught her on an off day?"

"We assure you, as the heroes of the Silver Spire, this is not the woman you're looking for." Ren assured the guard.

"Roll persuasion." Pyrrha gestured, shaking her head as a five was rolled. "Nope. I mean, 'There's no way to be sure, good Xanril, but we cannot release her until she faces trial at dawn tomorrow'."

"Trial?" Weiss squeaked. "What joke of a criminal system is this? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You're an ugly sorceress, that means your evil." Pyrrha shrugged as the guard.

"Ugly?!" Weiss recoiled.

"The Silver Spire districts are racist to elves." Yang reminded her.

"He doesn't mind Ren, I mean Xanril, and he's an elf!" Weiss pointed to the monk in question.

"Xanril is a _half_ elf, he can get away with passing as a human." Yang shook her head. "Rules are rules."

"You're a fire-breathing dragon lady and they mind me because I have pointy ears? That doesn't make any sense."

Ren shrugged. "Racism never makes any sense."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Fine. I roll to break out of my chains."

"They're enchanted chains, you can't use magic."

"Then I roll to break out with brute strength." Weiss covered.

"You're a sorcerer, you have a strength stat of….negative three." Pyrrha flipped through her notebook.

"Come on, let her at least try." Yang smirked. "I want to see this."

"Alright then. Roll Weiss. You need to roll a nineteen or higher in order to bust out of the chains."

Weiss reached out to take one of the light blue dice Pyrrha had loaned her, shaking it on her palm before throwing it onto the table. Cheers erupted as a 'twenty' showed on top.

"Crit, crit, crit, crit!" the group chanted like a bunch of crazed barbarians at a twisted ritual, but Weiss couldn't find herself to be annoyed.

Pyrrha just shook her head slowly. "The tiny elf sorcerer, who looks like a stiff wind would blow her over, breaks out of the steel chains easily despite all evidence it should be impossible. You are now free in your cell. What do you do?"

"I, uh, try to open the door?"

"Roll."

Weiss obeyed. "Eleven?"

"It seems your magnificent feat of strength has passed, as you tug at the door to no effect." Pyrrha had to raise her voice to be heard over Yang's giggles.

"I can just imagine Weiss beating at a cell door, glaring at it for it's audacity not to obey her."

The group laughed, but Weiss merely crossed her arms. "You mean _Iradessa_, not Weiss. I would at least have the good sense to never be arrested. Are you all not going to help me?"

"Why?" Blake shrugged. "We're heroes here, we can't break the law."

"You're the reason I'm in this mess! If you hadn't given them a shoddy description I wouldn't have been ambushed and arrested for no reason!"

"I mean, we are a little at fault." Jaune admitted. "Can I talk to the head guard?"

"Off to lunch." Pyrrha said in her guard voice. "Won't be back until tomorrow at one."

"How long does lunch take?" Weiss pouted, ignored as the others thought.

"I mean, they gave us a _really_ nice silver shield when we defeated those bandits." Jaune was tapping his chin in thought. "It'd be rude to turn on them now."

"I agree. Maybe we could...be her lawyers?" Nora suggested.

Weiss was horrified at the idea of this gang of hooligans representing her in a court of law, but Pyrrha just shrugged. "Roll to convince the guard."

No one rolled lower than a ten, so it was decided.

"Alright, you are, uh, _all _somehow appointed as her legal council. Weiss spends the night in her cell while you all stay at a cozy inn next door, reporting to the courthouse at sunrise."

"To the tavern!" Yang pumped her fist in the air. "Drinks on Akra! We need to prepare for tomorrow!"

"Fine, you drink a round at the tavern before turning in, _then_ you report to the courthouse in the morning." Pyrrha deepened her voice again, giving it a strong Mistralian accent for the judge. "You, Iradessa Arkaen, have been charged with being an evil, ugly, no-good magic using elf. How do you plead?"

"Innocent! Will people please stop calling me ugly?!"

Pyrrha banged her bottle of water on the coffee table, which was doing an excellent job of role playing as a gavel for being store brand. "Order in the court, there will be no more outbursts from the defense!"

"Your magnificent honor, uh, what his name again?" Jaune whispered to Pyrrha.

"Judge...Frollo?"

"Really?" Blake gave her a look but she just held her hands up in defense.

"I didn't think she was going to trial. Just roll with it."

"I'm so dead." Weiss buried her head in her hands as Jaune stood to deliver his moving defense.

"Magnificent Judge Frollo; your honorable, uh, judge-y-ness. We acknowledge that you are doing what you think is best for the kingdom, but we have faced off with the evil sorceress Azmurna and we can assure you this is not her."

"How can you be certain?" the judge asked. "Could she not be using illusion magics to make herself appear different?"

Jaune faltered at this, but Blake picked up where he'd left off. "If she was using illusion magic, would she not make herself appear as something else? Why someone she knew would be a target? She could have looked like anyone. She could look like the very king!"

"But that would bring a lot of attention Darkblade. Would a feeble magic woman, not even able to open a cell door, not be a sufficient disguise?"

Weiss opened her mouth to protest again, but Blake held her hand up. "May I propose a test, then?"

"And what do you have in mind?" the judge asked.

Blake leaned over and whispered in Pyrrha's ear for a few seconds, Pyrrha getting a smile Weiss didn't like one bit. They leaned away as she nodded.

"Seems fair, honorable hero. If she passes, she will go free."

"Did you hear what they said?" Weiss whispered to Yang, trying to duck under the judge's notice.

"No. Just be ready to roll." Yang whispered back.

"For you see, ladies and gentlemen of the court, would the evil sorceress Azmurna subject herself to THIS?" Blake dramatically threw a dice on the table, landing on a sixteen.

"Ooo, Weiss roll to dodge." Pyrrha scribbled in her notes.

"Dodge what?"

"You'll see."

She rolled, getting a three.

"Shriek in pain." Blake whispered to her.

"What?"

"_Iradessa_, shriek in pain!" she said again.

"Oh, I mean, '_Oh no! _You fiend! You've struck me with a-' what is it?"

"Would the sorceress Azmurna permit herself to be hit by a mere dagger? Could she not easily counter such a move?" Blake asked loudly.

"You hit me with a dagger?!"

Blake shrugged, Pyrrha having to overcome her giggles to talk again. "Blake roll again to see where it hits her, and the damage."

Blake rolled the first dice, landing on a nineteen. Pyrrha winced. "Ouch, let's say it grazes your...left eye."

"My eye?!" Weiss cried again, but Blake was already rolling again.

"For...one damage. See, everything's fine." Blake waved off her complaints.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Remember you have proficiency with daggers, add two to damage, so it's three points Weiss. 'Oh hero Darkblade, what you say must be true then, the evil sorceress would indeed have had the sense to dodge that. This court hereby finds the defendant not guilty'." Pyrrha banged her water bottle again and the team applauded, save for Weiss.

"You stabbed me in the eye with a dagger!"

"I _threw_ a dagger at you, big difference. And you're fine, it'll barely leave a scar." Blake shrugged again. "Better than being beheaded."

Weiss just grumbled as she took the damage off her total health pool. "You'll be hearing from my lawyers."

"And we're undefeated in court!" Yang banged her fists together. "Not bad for someone with a negative intelligence score."

"You have negative intelligence and you were going to defend my life?!"

"Hey, we won, didn't we?" Yang shrugged and popped another grape in her mouth. "To the tavern to celebrate!"

"You just went to a tavern last night to 'prepare for the trial tomorrow'." Weiss groaned.

Blake just shook her head as Yang subtracted from her gold amount to buy everyone a round. "Akra likes to drink a lot, it's becoming a real problem."

"We're debating holding an intervention." Jaune nodded in agreement.

Yang held her can of soda in the air, and the others took their drinks to cheers her. Even Weiss half-heartedly held up her glass of juice at Pyrrha's pointed look.

They all took a drink, Nora rummaging in the pile of empty snack wrappers. "Yang, did you steal the gummy worms?"

Yang shoved the last two in her mouth, hiding the package behind Blake. "No."

"You fiend!" Nora hopped up, pointing an accusatory finger at the blonde. "I, Karina Proudspire, challenge you to a battle!"

"Have you finished your drinks?" Pyrrha asked the two girls.

"In one gulp!" Yang boasted, too busy staring down Nora to think on the response.

"I finished mine in one gulp faster!" Nora countered.

"'I accept your challenge. Prepare to be broiled alive!' I roll to breathe fire."

"Minus five for intoxication." Pyrrha was resting her head on her hand, following the conversation between the two.

"Intoxication? It was one drink! My constitution is fifteen!"

"It was top shelf." Pyrrha shrugged.

Yang rolled her sunshine yellow dice. "Fine. Ten!"

"A five? You cough and a little fire comes out."

Nora chuckled maniacally. "I roll to punch Akra." she threw her pink dice on the table. "Fourteen!"

"Nine doesn't beat Akra's armor score. You hit her, but her scaly armor damages you...one point." Pyrrha did a quick roll.

"I roll to hit Karina with a chair."

A four, resulting in Yang being too drunk to even lift the chair off the ground.

Nora tried to kick Yang, but a two made her lose her balance and fall. Yang then tried to put her in a wrestling hold but she got a eight, making her merely bite Nora's foot. In retaliation, Nora rolled to throw Yang out the tavern window.

"Twenty!" Nora said in victory, causing the group to start their 'crit' chant again.

"Alright, you successfully throw Akra out the window. Yang, roll to recover."

"One." she sat back down in defeat.

"Ouch. Nora, unbeknownst to you, a group of guards are on patrol, passing right by the tavern. Yang, you slam into them, getting cut on one of their swords. You take eight points of damage."

She grumbled as she wrote it down, Nora laughing. "Take that, you overgrown lizard."

"Come say that to my face!" Yang retorted.

"Guards! These rowdy warriors broke my window!" Pyrrha called in a slightly wobbly voice, clearly meant to be the tavern keeper. "I think it's that ugly sorceress making them do it!

She switched to a deeper, more heroic tone for the guard. "Get her!"

"Oh come on!" Weiss threw her hands up.

"The guards are surrounding the tavern, and that's where we'll leave it for the night." Pyrrha flipped her book closed.

"I hope next time Akra remembers to leave some gelatin libations for the rest of us, lest we come to blows again." Nora dramatically offered her hand to Yang.

"Next time I bring my special dice, and I'll win." Yang took it, vigorously shaking the smaller girl with the force.

Everyone started picking up the trash, Weiss helping Pyrrha break down the game to store in the plastic containers. As the others slowly filed out she noticed Pyrrha and Jaune giving each other looks, so she waved goodnight to everyone as soon as the living room was back in order and went up to her bedroom.

She slid her character papers into the special folder she'd set aside specifically for the game, smiling as she put it in the drawer of her desk. Those guards wouldn't know what hit them next week.

Thursday and Friday were a little more relaxed, Mrs. Nikos insisting they needed some peace and quiet before school started. Weiss spent most of the time studying or reading, getting in at least two hours of practice on the barre a day to work on her technique before Mrs. Goodwitch would be staring at her. Saturday morning they got up bright and early, threw oversized tee-shirts over their bathing suits, and yawned all the way to the Belladonna household.

It was a pretty large house in a Mistralian style, with lots of columns and a curved roof. Weiss shouldered her beach bag she'd been loaned further on her shoulder, following Pyrrha's lead as she walked right in. The others were already in the living room playing a game on the TV from their Scrolls, barely sparing them a look.

"Hey, Pyr." Yang grunted as her fighting figure was thrown off the screen. "Damn it Sun, I was about to take out Ruby!"

"And I took you out first." a boy with wild blonde hair smiled. He was sitting on the arm of the couch like some kind of child, but the Belladonna parents seemed not to care.

"Thanks Sun, I was really- NO!" Ruby said in defeat as he knocked her off the screen as well.

"Thanks for the set up Yang." Sun chuckled, going after the other two figures.

"Come on Nora, bring it in for the girls!" Yang rubbed Nora's shoulders like she was a boxer in the corner of a fighting ring.

"Take that!" she dramatically swerved to the side as her character did the same on screen, knocking both of the male figures off in one hit.

"You're my hero!" Ruby bounced up and down as Yang slapped Nora on the back.

"Mutiny." Sun rolled his eyes as he slipped his Scroll in his pocket. "Hey, Pyrrha. Long time no see."

"Good to see you. Weiss, this is Sun, Blake's friend. Sun, this is Weiss."

"Pleasure to meet you." Weiss bowed her head as they shook hands.

"Woah, I'm not the queen." he chuckled. "Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."

"You have?"

"Yeah. I hear you got bailed out of jail by these fools?" he jerked his thumb towards the group.

It took her a second to understand he was talking about the game. "Oh yes, that was a ...trying time. Do you play with us?"

"Nah, I wish though. I have to work Wednesdays."

"Nope, no work talk!" Blake waved her hand in the air.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Just answering the lady's question."

"Are you guys ready?" Blake asked Pyrrha, rolling her eyes away from Sun.

"Sure are! I can't wait to get there. We haven't been to the water park in years! Thanks for inviting us."

"Thank my Mom, it was her idea." Blake shrugged.

"Alright guys, let's get this show on the road!" Mr. Belladonna stood up and clapped his hands, rousing the teenagers to grab their stuff and head out the door.

There were so many of them, one car would have never sufficed. The two Belladonna adults went with Blake, Yang, and Sun in their family SUV while Pyrrha led Weiss to a blue car parked on the curb. It was just them her, Jaune, and Pyrrha as Ruby went with Nora and Ren to the green car parked across the street, so Weiss slid into the backseat to give Pyrrha shotgun.

The silence was a little awkward at first, but finally Pyrrha cleared her throat and turned in her seat to focus on Weiss. "So have long have you been dancing?"

"My Father ma- let me take classes since I was four."

"Wow. I can't think of anything I've been doing since I was four." Jaune chuckled as he turned to follow the Belladonna car out of the neighborhood.

"I didn't get my first volleyball until I was eight."

"I think I got my first baseball at...seven?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Six, because that's the baseball you put through Mr. Keep's window that summer."

Jaune chuckled. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. You always have had a killer speedball."

"So you two have been friends for a while?"

"Oh yeah, forever it seems." Pyrrha was doing her best not to blush.

"The Nikos' moved to town about a year before we were born, so our families were already close before we even came along."

"Jaune's Mom and mine were in the same yoga class." Pyrrha explained. "They hit it off, and we've been friends ever since."

"How are your friends back in Atlas? I'm sure they miss you." Jaunew as trying to be nice, but Weiss just looked out the window.

"They're...fine, thanks for asking."

Pyrrha jumped in to smooth the tension again. "Weiss has been writing to her sister a lot. Jaune has seven sisters."

"Seven?" Weiss couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice, although she was sure it was quite rude.

"Oh yeah. You met my oldest sister Saphron on orientation day."

"That must have made for an interesting childhood." Weiss said after a pause, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh yeah, I can braid like nobody's business." he chuckled, earning a laugh from Pyrrha.

"We had a dance in middle school we all went to and my hair got messed up halfway through when Nora tried to waltz with me. Took Jaune less than five minutes and a rubber band to give me a perfect hairdo."

They pulled into a large parking lot, lucking out on getting three adjacent parking spots as it was still early. The Belladonna adults made sure everyone was together before leading the way to the gate, handing out their passes as they went through a metal gate to have their bags checked. They had rented a cabana for the day, a large shaded tent with plenty of room for all of them, so they set their things down and started putting on sunscreen before they braved the sun.

It wasn't until everyone was taking off their shirts and shorts Weiss realized how vastly different the expectation of 'swimsuit' was here. To be fair, she'd only ever gone to fancy spa resorts and beachfront hotels where people really only lounged by the pool instead of actually swimming. She had on a one piece swimsuit in a light blue color, gauzy frills on the hips and a white lace pattern on the straps giving it a little character. Normally she wouldn't even take off her shorts at a resort, but she wanted it to be as minimally obvious as possible she'd never been to a water park before.

Yang was the only other one in a one piece, but it had such a low neck it went almost to her bellybutton with a string lacing up the gap. Blake had high-rise bikini bottoms that went almost to her ribs, but the sides had the same expanse held by zig-zagging string that showed off her hips, topped off with a plain black bikini top. Nora and Pyrrha were both in more traditional bikinis, while Ruby had on a tankini that brought out the red in her hair. She felt a little formal, if showing this much skin could ever be formal, but looking around she saw a lot more people dressed like she was. Some were even more scantily clad than Yang, but she tried to avert her eyes from them.

After sunscreen they all rushed to the plethora of huge plastic sides that dominated one side of the park. They climbed about six flights of stairs to reach the line for the slides, queueing up with the few other patrons that were there as early as they were. There were three slides that left from the platform; a red, yellow, and black. No one seemed to be going on the black one, and as they took a few more steps forward Weiss tapped Yang on the shoulder.

"Why is no one going on that one?"

Yang took a glance, giving her a wide smile. "Oh, that one is really boring so people usually avoid it."

"Boring?" Weiss looked down the sixty foot drop off the tower they were on, wondering how anything off this high was boring.

"It's angled so you go really slow, and the turns are pretty wide so you don't get too much speed."

As they stepped forward again, Weiss stepped over to the black one, putting her hand on the rail in confidence as Yang stepped in front of the yellow and Pyrrha the red. Pyrrha glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure Weiss?"

"Of course, we should all go together."

"Alright, make sure you keep your arms and ankles crossed. You guys are clear." the lifeguard waved their hand and the girls pushed themselves off the bar into the plastic slide.

The slide had a gentle slope for about two feet, then making a sharp change to a twenty degree steep angle by Weiss' terrified calculations. She was shooting down the slide the fastest she'd probably ever gone, being shot into a series of sharp turns that only served to contribute to her speed. To add to the terror, the slide being black meant very little light came through, so she was in almost complete darkness the entire terrifying time. Her scream echoed through the tube, being drowned out by the rushing of water and shouts of the other girls on their own rides. She shot out of the bottom of the slide at a blinding speed, sailing through the air about halfway into the pool that served as a landing bpad. It took her a few seconds to orient which way was up, gasping as she broke the surface.

Weiss clawed for the side of the pool, pulling herself up to sit on the ledge and clear the way for the next riders. Pyrrha and Yang slid out of the other slides a few seconds later, smiling as they paddled towards her.

"How was it?" Yang had a huge grin on her face, one Weiss was learning never to trust.

"You lied to me! I could have DIED!" Weiss was sputtering, trying to retame her hair in its ponytail.

"Nah, you were fine." Yang waved away her complaints, hauling herself out of the pool with one hand. "It's just a little water slide."

"Easy, you said. 'Boring' was your exact word!"

"Well, now that you've survived, it _will_ be boring, won't it? Trust me, there's nothing like your first slide."

"How did- I mean, that wasn't my first."

Yang rolled her eyes as she offered her hand to help Weiss to her feet. "Anyone could tell just by looking at it that it's a monster. They call it the Black Tornado, because of the death rate."

"The _death rate?!_"

Yang laughed as Weiss's face grew red with anger. Pyrrha gave Weiss a sympathetic look. "Don't listen to her Weiss, no one has died here before. They just call it that to make it seem cooler."

Weiss crossed her arms and turned her nose up, walking to the others who were debating on their next ride without sparing the blonde another glance.

"Where did you find her, Pyr? She's great." she heard Yang chuckle behind her.

They went on a few more slides before deciding to escalate to the inner tube rides. These rides were much bigger, and people couldn't go on them normally, instead needing an inflatable tube to put between themselves and the swirling waters of death around them. The tube she carried with Pyrrha and Jaune was essentially a mini raft, a large circular tube on the outside leaving a large space in the middle for a group of people. After another dozen flights of stairs later they stood on a scale before setting the tube on the landing pad and climbing in. Weiss felt uncomfortable being this close to two other scantily clad people, but those thoughts went out the window as the lifeguard gave them a thumbs up and pressed a button. The conveyor-belt style pad move them forward, dumping them into the fast flowing water. This ride was _much_ worse than the one-person slides, which is why it was so confusing that instead of screaming in terror, she was screaming in joy alongside with Pyrrha. The water sped them to a long ramp, shooting them up into the air before more water took them speeding back down another slide and up another curved ramp. They went back and forth until they settled along the bottom, slower water taking them to the exit pool where they climbed out and handed their tube off to the next waiting group.

"That was so fun!" Weiss gasped, attempting for the thousandth time to figure out something to do with her hair.

"It's one of the better ones." Pyrrha agreed. "Let's find the others, I think I need some time in the lazy river to wind down before lunch."

"Agreed." Jaune nodded, shielding his eyes from the sun to look for the others.

They all met up a few minutes later, and heading to a large river that wound through the entire park that was much more Weiss' speed. She managed to snag a float and situated herself, reclining with her sunglasses and soaking in the sun as she was gently guided along the gentle river.

"I think this is my favorite one so far."

"It's nice to just lay back for a while." A split in the river came up, so Pyrrha threaded her foot through the handhold in Weiss's float to keep them together. "This is the perfect way to cap off the summer."

"Are you looking forward to school?"

"Oh yeah, of course. The homework won't be the best, but it's fun to go back to sports and clubs and things. Conditioning camp ended almost two weeks ago, so it's been a while since I've seen my teammates."

"So you play volleyball?"

Pyrrha nodded, sliding her sunglasses over her eyes as they slid into a patch of sunlight. "Track and volleyball in the fall, then I switch to softball in the spring."

"Which is your favorite?"

"I don't really have one. I love sports, but it's more getting to work as a part of a team. I could just as easily pick up basketball, or even golf and still have just as much fun."

Weiss looked over at Pyrrha who was reclining in her own chair, realizing for the first time just how good Pyrrha had to be at everything but how inconsequential it was to her. She realized why Jaune had called her perfect.

Her ruminations were cut short as both her and Pyrrha were unceremoniously flipped, being plunged into the cold water without so much as a warning. The river was only a few feet deep, so she easily found her footing, coming up to hear manic giggles. Yang and Jaune were laughing their heads off as her and Pyrrha were wiping water from their eyes.

"I wondered how long it was going to take you." Pyrrha laughed, splashing them both. "Four minutes, unusually restrained for you."

"We figured you two should relax a bit before we put you in your place." Yang laughed as she splashed them back.

Weiss was still standing there awkwardly, so Pyrrha hit her with a splash of water. Her wide smile was infectious, leading Weiss to throw composure to the wind.

"Whose team are you on?" she giggled, splashing Pyrrha back.

A huge fight ensued, with an unlikely alliance between herself and Yang to take out the formidable pair that was Jaune and Pyrrha. The others caught up with them, and the battle turned into a war as they picked sides. Once they came back around to the mouth of the river they were thoroughly soaked again, stepping out of the shallow water to head for the cabana to towel off.

After lunch at the snack shack on the premises, they went on more rides and Weiss even went an entire circuit on the lazy river without getting flipped while Yang and Nora went on one of the bigger slides. At about two they called it a day, heading to their tent to towel off a final time. Weiss had just managed to get her hair to stop dripping when Yang walked up with a camera.

"Hey guys, we should get a picture before we leave. Kali, do you mind to take it?"

"Not at all." Blake's Mom took the camera before following them.

Yang led the way to the kids area and Weiss thought it an odd choice at first, but it would make for a good water park picture. The whole area was in two inches of water with smaller kids splashing in the shallows while the slightly older ones went on the small slides. Bigger slides were situated on the higher levels, a large bucket at the top of a tower giving the place a good summer vibe. Weiss stood between Pyrrha and Blake, following their lead in lacing her arms around their waists and smiling as Mrs. Belladonna held up the picture.

Weiss heard a large 'whooshing' noise but didn't look away, focusing instead on making sure she wasn't blinking. She heard the camera shutter click right after Mrs. Belladonna's 'Say cheese!', but not a millisecond later they were engulfed in about a thousand gallons of water. Weiss sputtered as it was gone as quickly as it came, the large bucket at the top of the tower swinging wildly as it was now empty.

"Yeah, timed it perfectly!" Yang pumped her fist in the air as she flipped her drenched hair.

"You're the worst!" Ruby whined, shoving her sister away from her.

"_Every_ time." Blake groaned, taking off her soaked tee shirt and throwing it in Yang's face. "Damn you, Xiao Long."

"It's like you never learn." she wasn't perturbed in the least, slinging it around her neck like a fashionable scarf.

They returned to Mrs. Belladonna, taking a look at the picture she'd captured. It was beautiful in the most chaotic way. They were all smiling with a huge wave of water not a foot from their heads. If Weiss had been submitting it to a gallery, she would have named it 'Seconds Before Disaster'.

"It's perfect!" Yang's chuckled renewed.

"You'll have to send me that." Pyrrha laughed with her.

"Sure thing, since you didn't swear at me." Yang stuck her tongue out at Blake.

They did their best at drying off, still having to lay their towels over the seats in Jaune's car so as not to ruin them. It was a short trip back to the Belladonna house, the girls going up to Blake's room to change into their spare clothes. Luckily being in dance Weiss was a little less uncomfortable changing in front of other girls and luckily no embarrassing hijinks ensued, Yang seemingly having her fill for the moment. Weiss alone took the time reapplying her makeup, making sure her appearance was pristine before joining the others in the dining room for snacks and a game of cards. They played Spades, which Weiss at least knew the rules to, but all the other games had to be explained to her. Once they got bored of cards they went to the living room to play the fighting game on the TV again. It was madness with all nine of their characters flitting around the screen, and Weiss spent more time looking for her character than actually fighting anyone. Yang got a power-up, filling the screen with a purple laser that killed all the boys and Blake in one go. Pyrrha tried to get her with a quick series of punches but Yang countered them, grabbing Pyrrha and throwing her off the ledge for a ring out. Nora and Ruby tried to team up against her but it was mostly unsuccessful. Weiss tried to climb up to their level to help them, but Ruby managed to hit Yang while she was throwing Nora off the pillar after Pyrrha.

"Traitor!" Yang yelled as her character plummeted to it's digital demise. "I almost had another combo."

"That's for this morning!"

"I must be avenged!" Yang lunged across the couch, grabbing the Scroll out of Ruby's hand and managing to keep it out of her grasp long enough to pilot her off the edge.

"Player three, wins." the announcer called, showing a clip of Weiss' character dancing on screen.

"You won Weiss!"

"I did?" Weiss looked down to her scroll to see a green 'winner' banner flashing.

"Congrats, new girl!" Sun held up a hand.

She looked at it for a second before raising her hand to meet his. The slap was loud, and her palm stung from the force.

"Never high five Sun, you'll regret it." Pyrrha leaned over and whispered.

"Noted." Weiss grumbled as she took up her controler again for round two.

She didn't win any more matches, but it seemed to be a group effort to keep Yang from winning more than anyone individually wanting a victory. The Belladonna's took everyone out for burgers for dinner, and they split ways in the parking lot with a torrent of goodbyes. Jaune dropped them off at the Nikos' house, and Weiss made sure to scramble so the two could have some time together.

"Thank you for the ride." she nodded to Jaune as she slid out of the backseat.

"No problem. See you Monday." he waved as she shut the door.

She went in through the front door, trying to keep quiet as it was almost ten and she wasn't sure if the adults were asleep or not. Flicking on the light in her room she saw a stack of clothes still in their dry cleaning bag on her bed. She set her bag down and walked over, seeing the Beacon crest through the clear plastic. Six white button up tops, six plaid skirts, and three blazers were bundled together; their creases still crisp. She'd seen pictures of them in the brochures she'd been sent, but it was a different thing altogether to see them sitting on her bed. She unbundled the hangers and took a blazer, sliding it on over her plain periwinkle blouse and white skirt. The color clash was ghastly, but a warm feeling welled up in her stomach nonetheless. She heard a knock on her door and before she could respond Pyrrha walked in, seeing Weiss standing in front of her mirror with the blazer on over her casual clothes.

"I was just checking the fit." Weiss squared her shoulders, sliding the jacket off.

"No big, it looks good on you." she sat on the bed as Weiss went to hang the clothes in her closet. "Did you have fun today?"

Weiss took a second to consider the question. "Despite Yang dunking me in the wave pool every ten seconds, and getting us drenched, and having to sit through Nora shoving a dozen chicken wings in her mouth at the same time….yes, I did."

"Just wait until they have a ramen chugging contest at The Wok." Pyrrha giggled.

Weiss closed her closet door, sitting next to Pyrrha. "I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?"

"For including me. I appreciate you taking the time to include me in your friends' events."

"It's no problem Weiss. If we're being honest, I've wanted to do this for a while."

"What do you mean?"

Pyrrha gave a nervous chuckle. "Don't take this personally, but every time I saw you at those fancy parties in Atlas, you always looked so ...miserable."

"Really?' Weiss wasn't offended, more surprised someone had seen through her facade.

"You were always nice and everything, but you just never seemed like you were having fun. You know my family and yours have never really gotten along on the business side, and when your Dad approached us about hosting you for the exchange program we were worried it was just another one of his schemes to win us over to his side. My parents wanted to say no but I thought even if it was a scheme, if I could get you to have fun just once it might not all be bad."

Weiss looked to her hands. "The exchange program was my idea, but in order to justify it to my Father I did tell him it would improve our relationship with your family."

Pyrrha reached forward and covered Weiss' hand with her own. "We know, your Dad is about as subtle as flamingo in a pigeon shed. We did this for you. It's been nice to see you unwind a little."

Overcome with emotion, Weiss leaned forward and pulled her into a hug. She held on longer than was proper, whispering in her friend's ear. "Thank you."

"No problem, Weiss." Pyrrha hugged her back, letting Weiss to be the first to pull away a few seconds later. "Well, we better get to bed. Only one more day until we're back to homework every night."

"I suppose so. Goodnight."

"Night." Pyrrha waved as she walked through the bathroom to her own room.

Weiss laid back on the bed, sighing in content as her body ached from all the stairs. She couldn't remember a time where she hadn't wanted a day to end.

For all the excitement and rush of Saturday, Sunday really was nothing special. After their morning run Weiss spent the entire afternoon in the garage practicing for her audition. Jaune joined them for dinner, a seemingly common occurrence as Mr. and Mrs. Nikos seemed familiar enough to ask him questions about his sisters and school. He and Pyrrha went for a walk after dinner, so Weiss gladly retreated to her room to write a letter to Winter before the busy week set in. While not very eventful, laying down that night Weiss felt the same semblance of peace that had been creeping in the past week, and she felt glad to admit she could get used to it.


	2. Week 1

_New chapter since I'm locked in my house for the __foreseeable__ future. Drop a comment if you would please. I hope there are no typos but I __make__ no promises, as I'm so stir crazy with cabin fever I had to google how to spell Pyrrha's name three times. Hope you and your family and friends are safe, and enjoying some quality time locked on your houses together. Wash those hands!_

Monday morning in the Nikos household was in a word: madness. Mr. Nikos managed to misplace his car keys, and they had to help him practically rip up the house just to find them eventually hiding behind the cabinet in the hallway. The distraction set them twenty minutes late leaving for school and the bell was just ringing as they walked in the front door. Luckily they had the same homeroom, so Weiss was able to jog after Pyrrha up the stairs to the third floor and into one of the classrooms. The door was just closing as they slid in, putting them face to face with a scowling Mrs. Goodwitch.

"Girls."

"Good morning, Mrs. Goodwitch." Weiss bowed her head, straightening her uniform blazer slightly.

"Sorry, got a late start to the morning." Pyrrha apologized.

"Don't make a habit of it." she nodded towards the desks lined up in neat rows and they gratefully slipped into two empty ones before she could change her mind.

There were only two other students Weiss recognized in the class, Ren and Sun, but Mrs. Goodwitch seemed to have a strict no talking rule that was being aptly followed. She sat at her desk and called out the long list of names to take attendance, marking them off as everyone responded. After that was done she stood, standing in front of the class with her hands clasped behind her back.

"I know you all are excited, finally being in the upper half of the hierarchy this year, but keep in mind more privileges means more responsibilities. If you prove unworthy of the privileges you have been given, they will be taken away. You may now converse quietly until the bell rings to dismiss you to first period."

"You weren't kidding when you said she was strict." Weiss dared to whisper to Pyrrha as other students began talking to each other.

"Don't worry, she's really nice once she gets to know you. I know you two will get on famously."

The bell rang not five minutes later, and they stood up with the others to go to their first period class. Pyrrha had chemistry while Weiss had advanced history, so they parted ways at the stairs and she was left looking at the map she'd been given to find her way. It took nearly the full passing period for her to locate the room, and nearly all the desks were taken by the time she arrived. She saw Blake sitting by herself reading a book in the back and timidly stepped into her peripheral.

"May I sit with you?"

Blake looked over her book for a second, meeting her eyes before nodding slightly without a word

Weiss took her seat, telling herself at least it wasn't a no, as the final bell rang and the teacher closed the door. He was a skinny man with green hair, with the annoying habit of pacing all around his room as he lectured at a brisk walk. After passing out their textbooks he dove right into their lesson, clicking through his powerpoint as he spoke at a rapid fire pace. Weiss found herself scrambling to take adequate notes, trying to scribble down everything on the slides before he clicked to the next one. Somehow the forty-five minute period flew by, leaving Weiss with an aching hand and three pages of notes.

"Is he always that energetic?" Weiss asked Blake as they walked out of class.

She shrugged, seperating to head downstairs while Weiss headed up. Luckily Pyrrha was in her next class, advanced English, but she was alone in advanced chemistry after that. She picked one of the benches at random, sliding onto the stool. Everyone seemed already paired off so she was expecting to be alone, but right as the bell rang a handsome boy with blue hair walked up to her table.

"May I sit here?"

Weiss nodded as the teacher stood up, a woman with caramel skin and black hair pushed away from her face named Mrs. Mazarin. Most of the class was the basics of safety and passing out their textbooks, so luckily there were minimal notes as Weiss knew most of the material they covered. Class ended two minutes early, and as she was putting her textbook in her bag the boy next to her cleared his throat.

"So, you're new right?"

"Yes, I'm an exchange student from Atlas."

"You're staying with the Nikos', right?"

"Yes."

He offered his hand to her, giving her a dashing smile. "I'm Neptune. I ask because I think I remember you from orientation day."

"Yes, I saw you at the Wok a week ago." she shook his hand politely. "Your hair stood out to me."

"It does seem to get attention, but when you have a friend like Sun you need all the help you can get."

"Your friends with Sun?"

"Yeah, we live next to each other."

"I went to the water park with him Saturday. He's friends with Blake Belladonna."

Neptune rolled his eyes. "Only because he's too chicken to ask her out."

"I don't know anything about that."

"Sorry, don't mean to get you caught up in the drama. How are you liking it so far?"

"It's very different from Atlas, but everyone has been quite welcoming."

"Are you joining any teams or clubs?"

"I'm auditioning for the ballet team after school."

"Ah, Mrs. Goodwitch. Good luck."

"Do you play any sports?" Weiss tried to drag out the conversation to cover the last few seconds before the bell rang.

"Yeah, I play baseball in the spring."

"I know Pyrrha plays softball. What's the difference?"

To his credit he didn't laugh, just gave her a quick glance to see if she was joking or not and deeming her sincere, answered. "Baseball is for guys, and softball is for girls. The biggest difference is the ball. It's bigger in softball, so it's easier to hit. Softball also pitches underhand so it's a little easier to hit too. There are other differences like size of the pitch and the distance between the pitcher and the batter; stuff like that."

"Why is it so different?"

Neptune shrugged as the bell rang, standing but waiting for Weiss to gather her bag. "Beats me. I had Pyrrha pitch for me once and she nearly ripped my arm off. She'd kill it in baseball but rules are rules. Where are you off to next?"

Weiss glanced at her schedule. "Choir, in the music wing."

"You sing?"

"A little." she shrugged as they descended the stairs.

"Well, I should see you around then. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks. It was nice meeting you, Neptune."

"And the same for you, Weiss." he gave her a little salute as they split ways.

The music hall was pretty empty at this hour, with the two lower grades being confined to the lunch room. She walked into the room labeled 'M101' to see a group of kids sitting on the risers chatting. The teacher sitting with her feet on her desk in the front smiled as she caught sight of Weiss.

"Welcome! You must be Ms. Schnee."

"Yes ma'am, and you are Ms. Willow?"

"The one and only." she stood up to shake Weiss' hand. "Have you been in a music class before?"

She thought about the dozens of tutors she'd had, and the hundreds of hours she'd spent on the bench of a piano. "Yes ma'am."

"Excellent! Since it's the first day back we'll keep it pretty easy." the bell rang and she gestured for Weiss to take a seat on the risers next to the other students. "Well, welcome back everyone! It's good to see you all are doing well. As you all know from last year, our winter performance is going to be at the big Winter Showcase. We wanted to do a short show in November, but it doesn't look like the schedules are going to work out with the theatre group."

"What songs are we doing for the Showcase?" one of the girls asked without so much as raising her hand.

"The usual ones. I'll put up a list of specifics probably start of next month, but you guys already know most of them from last year. There's the 'Carol of the Bells' of course, and that'll be a group effort. The two solos for 'Merry Little Christmas' and 'Winter Wonderland'. 'Jingle Bell Rock' is another big one, and this year we're actually going to rehearse with the band before hand so we're better on our timing. We're still figuring out the other ones for now, but I'll let you know as we decide. Ms. Celeste has already claimed the main spot for 'Wizards in Winter', so we're mostly having to work around that. She's also wanting to have a 'Run, Run Rudolph' bit with the jazz dance team, but we'll have to see how we're doing for time on that."

"When are auditions for the solos?" one of the boys asked, at least marginally putting up his hand.

"Right before Halloween, so we have plenty of time for rehearsals and such around the breaks. Remember, same as last year, you must be passing _all_ your classes to get a solo. Even electives." she gave a pointed look to one of the girls before instructing them to stand for some scales.

It was a very easy class, with barely twenty minutes of work, before they were allowed to talk to each other or in Wiess' case study her schedule so she wouldn't be so lost for her classes later in the day. A few seconds before the bell rang she got a message from Pyrrha telling her to meet them in the foyer so they could all go to lunch together. She did as she was told, and pretty soon their large group was heading to a fast food place just across the street. It wasn't her usual place, but Weiss managed with a salad and a baked potato. Everyone was mostly chatting about their after school plans, but since her audition still sent a flutter of nervousness through her stomach she settled to talking with Pyrrha about her teachers.

After lunch was their study hall in one of the classrooms on the fourth floor, and luckily a large number of their group had it with her. Pyrrha, Ren, Blake, and herself sat in a corner talking; and Weiss noticed Neptune had the class as well, huddled up with a group across the room playing a game on their Scrolls.

She had Mrs. Goodwitch in her next period for advanced calculus, and it was another class heavy on the note-taking and even dishing out the first bit of homework. Her eighth period was an elective, World Cultures, but she spent most of the period feeling nervous about her audition. She almost jumped out of her seat as the bell rang, rushing downstairs to the dance locker rooms to change as quickly as possible. Once she tied the chiffon skirt around her waist and made sure her hair was in place, she carried her bag to studio B. Mrs. Goodwitch wasn't there as she was about fifteen minutes early, so she took the time to start stretching and warming up. She made sure her pointe shoes were prepared in case she'd need them, then slipped in headphones so she could focus through the nervousness. She finally relaxed as she stood at the barre, focusing on her posture and technique instead of the coming inspection. At five thirty her Scroll alarm rang and she switched it off, sliding it into her bag as Mrs. Goodwitch walked in the room.

"Good afternoon." she bowed her head.

Mrs. Goodwitch had changed as well, swapping her business formal dress for looser but still professional black athletic clothes. She was wearing black ballet flats and Weis realized she would be working alongside her, instead of her usual instructor setup where her teachers were merely telling her what to do from a chair.

"Good afternoon. I saw you warming up, your form is good."

"Thank you."

"Have you ever danced in Valian style before?"

Weiss shook her head this time. "No ma'am, my Father is a steadfast proponent of Atlesian style ballet."

"Would you be willing to learn?"

"Of course."

"Perfect, we'll start right now. First position."

Her heart rate picked up as she realized _this_ was the audition, not a cultivation of what she already knew. She was woefully out of her depth, but she did her best in trying to keep up with Mrs. Goodwitch. The older woman was flawlessly graceful, and Weiss was in awe of how effortless she made the complicated steps look. As Weiss turned out from a pirouette an hour later, Mrs. Goodwitch crossed her arms and assessed her deeply. She felt the judgement coming but tried to keep her composure despite the nerves.

"Rest." the command finally came, and Weiss relaxed. "I think you have a long way to go, but if you're willing to learn then I see no reason you can't join my advanced class."

"Advanced class?"

She nodded. "Yes. The junior varsity team is learning Atlesian techniques this year, and I don't feel you'd learn anything from that class. Your eighth period is World Cultures, correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Tomorrow for eighth period, report here to studio B instead. Do you have space to practice at home?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I want you to work on your fouettes. Make sure you're keeping track of the angle of your leg, keeping your hips balanced, and making sure you're not too closed on your turnouts."

"Of course, thank you."

"See you tomorrow then." she nodded to Weiss before walking out of the room.

Weiss followed her movement, being startled to see four faces staring at her through the window. Yang, Nora, Pyrrha, and Jaune were all lined up along the window waving at her like mad. She walked over to the door and poked her head out, as non-ballet students weren't permitted in the studios. All the girls were in Beacon's red jerseys with varying numbers, hair sticking to their forehead with sweat.

"What are you all doing here?" she ran her hand over her hair, sure she also looked a mess after the sweating.

"We just got out of volleyball and came to see how it went. So?" Pyrrha nudged her.

"So what?"

"Did you make it?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, I join the advanced team tomorrow."

"You made the _advanced_ team? Ah, congratulations!" the girls jumped up and clapped, Nora picking her right up in a bear hug.

Weiss was too taken aback to protest, shocked by their reactions. Last time she'd auditioned for anything all she'd gotten at her announcement of making it was 'as expected'. Nora dropped her to take Yang's hands and swing like a pair of fools in the middle of the hallway. Pyrrha pulled her into a much more refined hug, Jaune extending his hand to her.

"Good job Weiss. You looked good from what I could tell."

"Do you dance?" she asked as she shook it.

"One of my younger sisters took ballet a few years ago. All I remember was her falling down a lot, and you didn't do that, so I'd say you were alright."

"And you look so pretty!" Pyrrha hugged her again. "You were so graceful."

"Thank you."

"Mom and Dad are going to be thrilled to bits. Speaking of which," she checked her Scroll. "Mom will be here in a few. I still need to go get my stuff and shower, we rushed right over here. Meet you at the gym parking lot in ten minutes?"

"I'll be there." Weiss nodded and they all waved as they jogged back down the hall towards the athletic wing.

Weiss got her bag and headed back to the changing room, only taking the time to slip into her shoes instead of changing back into the heavy uniform in her sweaty state. She cleaned herself up a little in the sink, making sure to apply extra deodorant and refresh her makeup. Mrs. Nikos was parked in the athletic wing parking lot, giving them a wide smile as they walked up.

"How did it go?" were the first words out of her mouth when they opened the door.

"I made the team."

"The _advanced_ team." Pyrrha corrected.

"Congrats, Weiss!" she gave her a wide smile. "We have to celebrate!"

"We do?"

"Of course, this is big! Why don't we go out tonight? You can pick the place you want to go."

"It's really fine, Mrs. Nikos, you don't have to go through the tr-"

"Why don't we go get some Atlesian food?" Pyrrha cut her off with a wave. "We're going to make a big deal of this regardless, so you might as well accept it."

"Atlesian would be nice." Weiss finally submitted, leaning back in the seat as Mrs. Nikos pulled out.

"Gus will be so proud, Weiss. He even went ahead and got a surprise for you."

"A surprise?"

Mrs. Nikos nodded as they turned onto the main road. "Well, it's a joint surprise for you and Pyrrha. He's out getting it right now."

"What? I didn't know that. Oh, what is it?" Pyrrha jumped in her seat a little.

"Now you know I'd never ruin a surprise. When we get home, you girls go get changed for dinner and meet me in the living room, alright?"

They got home and Pyrrha took the stairs three at a time, knocking on the bathroom door not two minutes after walking in her room. Weiss hadn't even gotten her tights off when Pyrrha was walking in.

"Are you ready?"

"Leotards take a minute to get out of, Pyrrha."

"Hm, I guess they would." she sat on Weiss' desk chair. "So what is Atlesian food like?"

"Mostly soups and the like, as it's quite cold up there. We also eat a lot of seafood being on the ocean, but it's not fresh seafood like Mistral. Usually it's braised or sauteed."

"What's your favorite Atlesian dish?"

Weiss debated as she flipped through her clothes to pick an outfit. "Probably Chicken Kiev. Some of the upper class families frown upon it because it's Valian inspired and not strictly traditional, but it's delicious nonetheless."

"I'll get that tonight then." Pyrrha decided, spinning in the chair. "What do you think Dad got us?"

"You'd have a much better idea than I would." Weiss slipped on a pretty white sundress, topping it with a light blue babydoll sweater and fishing around for her favorite pair of blue pumps. "What does he usually give you for a reward?"

"Reward? Well usually we just go out to dinner, but it's been a while. Dad likes to give little surprises randomly. He says only getting gifts on special events ruins the spirit of giving. If you give a gift on a day no one expects it, then it's truly a surprise."

"I see." Weiss nodded, even though she in fact did not. Her Father had never once given her a gift as a surprise, usually touting the lavish gifts he gave her to strangers more than her. Gifts were a symbol of wealth in her family, not affection.

With Pyrrha rushing her every second, she retouched her makeup again before being practically thrown down the stairs. Mr. Nikos was standing guard at the garage door as they came down, soon joined by Mrs. Nikos.

"Hey girls. Congrats on the advanced team, Weiss."

"Thank you sir."

"How was work dear?" Mrs. Nikos asked her husband, kissing his cheek.

"Mom, don't stall. Come on!" Pyrrha was practically bouncing in place.

"Okay, okay. Easy, tiger. This is for both of you. Pyrrha for making the volleyball Captain spot and making varsity for softball, and Weiss for making the team today and as another welcome gift." he opened the door with a flourish, and Pyrrha dragged her through it.

The large garage bay door was open, and in the driveway next to Mr. Nikos' SUV and Mrs. Nikos' car was another car. Slightly smaller and in a vibrant red, it shone brightly in the late afternoon sun.

"A car?!" Pyrrha bounced over to it, looking in all the windows and running around it twice before diving at her parents with a flying tackle. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"We know this year will be a little crazy with all your sports, and now Weiss' extracurriculars as well, so this is really a gift to all of us. I expect you girls to take good care of it." Mr. Nikos patted his daughter's back.

"I can't believe this! You guys are the best! Weiss, do you see this?!"

"I do. Thank you both." Weiss stood slightly off to the side with her hands clasped.

"It's our pleasure." Mr. Nikos held out his hand and she shook it firmly. Mrs. Nikos instead opted for a hug.

"And with that, why don't you drive to dinner, Pyrrha?"

"Really?!" Pyrrha squealed.

"Absolutely." he took the keys out of his pocket, handing them to his daughter. "We're going to _der köstliche Fisch_, right?"

"Yup!" Pyrrha twirled the keys on her finger. "It's the best Atlesian place in town, at least according to the internet."

"See you girls there then. Remember to use your blinker!" Mrs. Nikos pointed to her daughter as they headed for the black SUV.

"They aren't riding with us?"

"Guess not. Come on, you can sit in the front seat!" Pyrrha bounced around to the driver's door, sliding into the front seat.

Weiss took a deep breath before following her lead, clicking her seat belt in place as Pyrrha checked her mirrors. "Have you driven a lot?"

Pyrrha nodded as she turned the key in the engine, her smile growing as the car started up. "Yeah, I had my permit for six months, then I took a driving course and logged twenty hours with Mom over the summer to get my license."

"This is a thoughtful gift." Weiss tried to make conversation as Pyrrha backed out of the driveway.

"Like Dad said, it's also for Mom a little. This will save her a lot of headaches. Last year was pretty bad, having to drive me all around the kingdom for tournaments and stuff."

"You travel for sports?"

"Sometimes. We go against the other schools in Vale, then if we do well we get to go to the other kingdoms for the championships."

"Have you ever been to Atlas?"

"Unfortunately no, but we're hoping to do well enough in Volleyball this year to go."

Pyrrha talked on about her visits to Menagerie, Vacuo, and Mistral while they followed Mr. Nikos' black SUV through downtown traffic. It took Pyrrha a couple tries, but eventually they managed to parallel park, meeting the Nikos parents in front of a fancy restaurant with light blue doors.

It was a posh restaurant, that was for sure, and Weiss felt right at home. All the linens were a crisp white, and the chairs were in the palest blue. The maitre d led them to their table, pulling out Mrs. Nikos' chair and bowing before leaving. There were no less than three forks next to her plate, and Weiss couldn't have been happier. All the foods on the menu were as familiar to her as pizza to Pyrrha, and it was especially difficult to pick something off the long list of her favorites. Finally she settled on a stroganoff dish, settling to the appetizer of blini and sour cream that had been placed on their table along with their drinks.

They mostly talked about their first day, Pyrrha and Weiss taking turns about going over their schedules. Pyrrha had just finished detailing their volleyball training schedule, meaning it was Weiss' turn. She'd already told them all about her audition, so she cast through her mind to find something else of interest to discuss.

"My choir teacher said there will be some solos at the Winter Showcase. If it doesn't conflict with my ballet schedule, I might consider auditioning."

"I didn't know you took choir." Pyrrha wiped up the rest of her caviar with her pancake.

"I had to choose two electives, and music is something I've been involved with my whole life."

"Remember, we attended the Schnee charity concert a few years ago, benefitting the victims of that train crash in Atlas." Mrs. Nikos reminded her daughter.

"That was _you_? I thought that was your sister."

"No, my sister had left for the military by then."

"I remember that concert, you were great! You can play the piano too, right?"

"A little, but not as well."

"Is there anything you can't do?" Pyrrha joked.

"Trust me, there are plenty of things." Weiss tried not to dwell on the negative thoughts. "So what all does the Winter Showcase intel? Mrs. Willow spoke about it like it was a big event."

"It's probably the biggest event the school puts on. The spring performances are significant, of course, but the Winter Showcase is a steadfast tradition. All the money goes to the Winter Giving Fund, which provides presents and meals for the less fortunate families in Vale. It changes from year to year, but usually it's a mixture of the different bands, the choir, the dance teams, and sometimes some skits from the theatre department." Mr. Nikos unfolded his napkin, placing it across his lap as he spoke.

"I didn't know it was so important." Weiss bit her lip.

"It's a big deal because it goes to a great cause. The spring performances are usually more niche, theatre for instance puts on a full-length show in the spring that sometimes attracts talent scouts from colleges. The Winter Showcase is more of a collaboration between the creative electives of Beacon." Pyrrha likewise prepared her napkin as the waiter headed their way with their food.

After they had the first course laid before them, the conversation picked up again. "Have you ever been in one, Pyrrha?"

She shook her head at Weiss' question. "Usually the sports don't partake too much, as it's a chance for the other electives to shine. We get attention at the games, we wouldn't want to take it from the bands and stuff at their concerts."

"And, of course, there's the Winter Ball." Mrs. Nikos chimed in. "You girls get to go to it this year, being juniors."

"Speaking of which, do you know where that is going to be yet?" Mr. Nikos asked his daughter.

She shook her head as she spooned up soup. "The meeting today was mostly organization, but I don't think we'll know until after the fundraiser."

"Fundraiser?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, we hold two fundraisers a year. Most of it goes toward the funds for the Winter Ball and Prom for the seniors. Last year the Winter Ball was at the Lotus hotel downtown, and I heard it was nice."

"It is, my Father took me there once for a business conference."

"Well, maybe you can have somewhere just as nice this year." Mrs. Nikos smiled. "There are a lot of places in Vale."

"I know Coco has her heart set on the Emerald Ballroom in the museum. She said it has 'modern charm'."

"Coco, the volleyball captain?" Weiss tried to remember where she knew the name.

"Yeah. Coco is the captain of the varsity volleyball team, but she's also the student council president."

"You're on student council?"

"Yeah, I'm the vice-president. We hold elections at the end of the year. Anyway, she was thinking of doing a fashion show for the fall fundraiser."

Mrs. Nikos chuckled. "I think she would be very good at that."

"Coco is the best fashion student at Beacon, and I don't doubt she gets snapped up by some big designer when she graduates." Pyrrha explained. "If she's designing the clothes, I don't doubt it'd be successful."

"That sounds like fun." Weiss concluded as the second course was being served.

The internet hadn't lied, the food was absolutely delicious. It was a little taste of home, and it was the perfect thing to top off her day. They were so full at the end of the four course menu they decided to walk downtown a little before heading home. Mr. and Mrs. Nikos walked in front holding hands, and Weiss walked with Pyrrha behind them.

Downtown Atlas could best be described as 'modern classic', all marble columns and glass buildings, and as usual Vale was starkly different. The buildings weren't as imposingly tall or sharply angled but downtown held its own charm. The roofs were mostly in Vale's traditional dark green color which gave it a homey feel, the handsome stone buildings sitting squarely beneathe. Carved stone seemed to be popular, and as they stopped at a corner to wait for a traffic light Weiss marveled at a huge thirty foot stone angel carved onto the corner of one of the taller buildings.

"That's the performance center." Pyrrha leaned over and whispered, taking Weiss's hand as they crossed the street so she could continue staring without getting run over. "It's one of the oldest buildings in Vale. From it's conception, Vale has always been dedicated to the arts."

"It's beautiful. The performance center in Atlas always looked like a tomb to me." the words slipped out before she could stop them, snapping Weiss out of her awe to attempt to cover the blunder. "I mean, it's a majestic building of course. The marble-"

"I get it, Weiss." Pyrrha waved off her explanation. "Don't worry, I thought the same thing too. The way the columns and the doors are, it looks like an oversized mausoleum."

Weiss blushed as they reached the other side of the crosswalk, slowing their pace again to enjoy the sights. They did a quick turn around the block before they headed back to the cars. Everyone turned in early once they got home, but Weiss took the time to write Winter all about her first day. She left out the details of her plans to learn to drive, but she made sure to include her acceptance onto the dance team. While Winter had never understood her affinity for dancing, having dropped the habit herself the second she could, she'd always encouraged Weiss to do what she loved. Somewhat optimistically Weiss wrote about the Winter Showcase, hoping beyond hope Winter might possibly be able to make it if she secured a solo. Being in the Atlesian military was Winter's dream come true, and she rarely left her post for personal matters, but Weiss had always secretly wished she'd make an exception for her. Since she knew her Father would never in a million years attend a high school performance, it might be appealing enough to the older Schnee sister to merit a vacation day.

Tuesday went much smoother, especially because they were able to leave as soon as they were ready. Mrs. Nikos made sure they both took a breakfast sandwich on their way out, kissing their cheeks and reminding them to have a good day. Homeroom was much more relaxed, and they were given nearly the full ten minutes to chat with each other once attendance was done. Her history class flew by again, Mr. Oobleck seemed even more energetic and his walking around the room was more akin to jogging. They got their first bit of homework, setting the trend for the rest of the day burying them in assignments. Mrs. Mazarin's homework was about the procedures for a lab they'd be starting Monday, and Weiss was excited to do her first experiment in public school.

Choir brought a little more turbulence, as Mrs. Willow started their first lesson on ear-training, something Weiss had been having drilled into her since she was six. She felt the stares of her classmates as she continued to give right answers to Mrs. Willow's delight. Luckily the class ran just before the bell, so she was able to grab her things and stage a quick get away so the others couldn't unleash the barrage of snide comments she was sure they had.

Lunch was much better, piling into Ren's car with all the others to drive to a taco stand about five minutes from the school. She hadn't had much Vacuoan food but it was pretty delicious. Study period was much more professional as now they had plenty of homework to keep them busy so their monitor, Mr. Midori, said there was no need to talk. She went over her calculus work twice to make sure it was all up to par, not wanting to let Mrs. Goodwitch have a chance to regret letting her onto the team.

After math she rushed all the way down to the dance wing, changing quickly in the changing room where three other girls were likewise pulling on tights. Studio two was much busier, three boys joining them as the bell rang, and they all took their places on the barre along the wall as Mrs. Goodwitch walked in.

"Good afternoon, class. As you all have realized, we have a new student. Weiss is joining us from Atlas so you'll recognize her Atlesian style from your class last year. Take ten minutes to stretch before we get into our warm ups."

Weiss was on the end of the row of girls, sandwiched between a girl with dark hair and a boy wearing a purple scarf despite the sweat already on his brow. It was clearly evident Weiss was younger than them all. She was naturally shorter than most kids her age, but the other ballet students also had that air about them that conveyed they were seniors at a single glance. As their stretches wrapped up Mrs. Goodwitch started music and led them through their positions, correcting Weiss more than all of the other students combined. While both styles of ballet were similar, there were vast differences in posture that anyone with a trained eye spotted in half a second. Her feet were in the wrong position, and if it wasn't her feet it was her arms. Her lines were wrong, her jumps from the wrong foot, and she landed on the wrong foot as well.

Ballet class was really just their warm up, practice running an hour after the final bell rang. Weiss had never had a more abysmal time in ballet, and her stance was as rigid as a board as Mrs. Goodwitch finally dismissed them. The snide smirks of the older students didn't help the growing sense of dread she felt as they packed up.

"Weiss, if you'd please stay back for a moment."

This was it, she was going to be kicked off for good. Mrs. Goodwitch was going to send her back to the junior class and regret ever letting her step foot in with the older students. She took her time wrapping up her pointe shoes and sliding them into her bag, slipping on her flats before turning to face her instructor. Mrs. Goodwitch watched the last students leave and made sure the door was shut before addressing her.

"You did very well today, Weiss."

"I underst- I'm sorry?"

"You did well. I know it can be disheartening, but know you're improving rapidly. A few more weeks and I think you will have no problems."

"Thank you for the encouragement."

"I'll see you tomorrow in class then."

"Yes ma'am." Weiss bowed her head as she headed out of the studio, aiming for the gym to purposely skip the locker room where she knew the other girls were.

She heard commotion in the athletic wing but it seemed to be coming from all four of the gyms at once. The first door she opened was the boys basketball team, so she hurried off before anyone heard the heavy door clang shut. The second gym was cheerleading practice, but she lucked out on the third try for volleyball. She stepped in and sat at the edge of one of the bleachers, finally getting to set her heavy bag on the polished wooden floor and sit for a moment. Pyrrha was on the left side of the court, calling the shots for her team who were facing off with another group of girls. One the opposite side Weiss saw a girl with fashionably cut brunette hair calling out positions, and she knew it must be the infamous Coco.

At five thirty exactly their coach, a woman with vibrant pink hair, blew on a whistle to dismiss both teams. The girls amicably merged together as they filed out the doors towards the locker rooms. Pyrrha spotted Weiss on the bleachers and waved her over, taking her hand so they'd join the crowd.

"How did your first practice go?"

"I have much to learn." Weiss mumbled, realizing the other girls around them were eyeing her.

"Don't worry Weiss-cream, Mrs. Goodwitch is a great teacher." Yang was bouncing behind them, stretching her arms. "If she let you in the class, she must think you can do it."

"It will take a lot of hard work to get to the other students' level."

"Don't worry, I'll be here to help however I can." Pyrrha squeezed her hand as they walked into the girls locker room.

The athletic locker room was five times as large and as crowded as the dance one, with barely enough room to move around. Weiss saw cheerleaders, the basketball team, and all of Pyrrha's group as they filed to the row of junior lockers. Weiss took a seat on one of the benches as Pyrrha flipped open the metal door to the one labeled 'Nikos'.

"So what all did you do today?"

"Mostly worked on the basics. Dancers from Vale have an entirely different style than back home, so I have to relearn everything essentially."

"That sounds rough." Nora grunted from two lockers over. "I know Ren had problems when he transferred from the casual classes to the professional program in culinary. He said there were a lot of etiquette and technique differences. Of course he picked up on it quickly, but it was a rough couple of weeks, and he spent most of it measuring how thin his sliced vegetables were."

"Maybe we can look up some videos on the internet tonight." Pyrrha offered as she threw her uniform into her gym bag. "Maybe there are some tips for dancers who have had to transition styles before."

"I have a lot of work to do tonight, but I can see how much time is left after dinner."

"I thought we were going to the mall, Pyrrha?" Yang was running a brush through her long blonde hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's right. Yang needs new trainers so we're going to the mall for a bit. Do you want to come?" Pyrrha asked her, snapping her locker shut and picking up her things.

"I appreciate the offer, but I need to make sure my work gets done."

"No big. I'll meet you guys in twenty minutes at Nora's house? I need to take Weiss home."

"See you then, _el __capitana_." Yang saluted as they walked off.

"I don't mean to keep you from your friends." Weiss glanced back to Yang and Nora laughing as the locker room door closed.

"Oh, it's no bother. I texted Mom this afternoon, but I should probably check and make sure she got it. Besides, I wouldn't mind grabbing some more comfortable shoes either." Pyrrha gave a scowl to the heavy black dress shoes they were provided for the school uniform.

"I thought you said we could wear whatever shoes we want as long as they were black? I've been wearing my booties and no one has said anything."

"We can, I just don't really have another black pair. Kind of why I suggested the mall, while Yang is getting her trainers I can look around a little."

They climbed in their new car, Pyrrha checking her mirrors before starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. A few minutes later they pulled into the driveway of the house, Pyrrha holding the garage door open for Weiss.

She got all of her work done before dinner, permitting herself twenty minutes to peruse through her Scroll as it wasn't enough to practice anyways. Pyrrha came in the front door just as Mrs. Nikos called them to the table, setting her shopping bags in the foyer and joining them. They talked about their day, Pyrrha and Weiss taking turns again before Mr. Nikos went on about how the office was. Dinner always seemed to fly by at the Nikos' house with all the conversation, and before she knew it Pyrrha was gesturing for her to follow her upstairs.

"I got you something."

"You did? But I haven't gotten you anything."

Pyrrha waved her off as they stepped into her room. "Don't worry about it, I didn't get you it just to get something back. Here."

She handed Weiss a pretty white gym back with silver trimmings. It had short handles to be carried like a purse, or a long strap to sling over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, it's Beacon approved. You can only have a solid colored bag with no logos or markings if you want to go to competitions, and I thought white was your style."

"Thank you very much Pyrrha, it's perfect." she ran her hand along the strap, seeing three ribbons tied to the metal clasp on the side. "What are these?"

"Because basic bags are so boring, there's a little tradition at Beacon where your friends will give you colored ribbon. You know, just to spice things up." Pyrrha reached behind her door for her gym bag, showing off a line of almost two dozen ribbons. "See? Most of mine are from volleyball, but there are a few on here from track too."

"So this red one is yours?" Weiss ran the pretty silk ribbon on her own bag through her fingers.

"Yup. The pink is form Nora, and the yellow is from Yang."

"They wanted to give me one?"

"Well yeah, you're our friend." Pyrrha chuckled, throwing her bag back in the corner. "I just haven't seen you with a gym bag, and I thought with you being in ballet now it'd be nice to have somewhere to keep all your stuff. The clerk at the store said it was good for ballet, with some shoe pockets or something."

Weiss leaned forward, pulling Pyrrha into a hug. She was taken aback for a second, but returned it after a brief pause.

"Thank you Pyrrha."

"No problem, Weiss."

She pulled back after a second, taking the bag and giving Pyrrha a bow of the head. "If you need any help on your homework, let me know."

"I'll probably just do it in study hall tomorrow, but thanks." Pyrrha seemed to sense her embarrassment, turning away to empty her sweaty practice clothes into the laundry basket.

Weiss bowed quickly, shutting the door to her room for a moment of privacy. While the gift was probably routine for dozens of other girls, it was particularly special to her. When she'd joined ballet as a child, she'd always just been given her equipment by her instructors. Her Father had not shown an inkling of interest in her dancing besides expecting her to be flawless in performances. For someone that had no benefit from her passion, and for someone who'd known her such a short time, she was overwhelmed with the casual sincerity Pyrrha always offered.

She shook herself out of her reverie, resolving to double her efforts to show the Nikos' she deserved their support. She took care to remember everything Mrs. Goodwitch had said to her, and spent nearly three hours retraining her brain through the very basics at the barre in the garage. Only after she felt satisfied she'd made a little progress did she allow herself to call it for the night, returning to her room to organize her equipment in the new bag. It really did have everything she needed, from shoe slots to a net on the outside for her water bottle, and she knew she'd get lots of use out of it. She set it by the door next to her backpack, finally settling down to try and get some sleep.

Wednesday was more of the same, classes picking up now that everyone was a little more settled in to their routine. Her classes were living up to their 'advanced' title, but she welcomed the challenge. Ballet was just as abysmal as before, but at least now that she was sure she wasn't going to be abruptly ejected from the class, the giggles of the older girls were easier to bear. She completely forgot about D&D until Yang and Nora told Pyrrha they'd see her in an hour after practice. They got to spend less time, as everyone was tired from their various responsibilities, but it was entertaining nonetheless to eat pizza and show some guards why Yang gave her character the nickname 'Ice Queen'.


End file.
